[en] This conference is part of a series of conferences previously organised in Harwell (1978), Antwerp (1982), Santa Fe (1985), Mito (1988), Juelich (1991), Gatlinburg (1994), Trieste (1997), Tsukuba (2001), and Santa Fe (2004). The purpose of these conferences is to bring together scientists and engineers involved in the production or use of nuclear data for various applications. The ND-2007 conference covered a wide range of activities including measurements, theoretical model developments, evaluation, processing, validation and dissemination of nuclear data. The scope of the conference included the following fields of application: fission and fusion energy, accelerator technology, dosimetry and shielding, astrophysics and cosmology, safeguards and security, space, medicine, environment. The corresponding needs for improved nuclear data was addressed. The conference programme was established by the Local Organizing Committee with the help of the International Advisory Committee, the International Programme Committee, and Session Leaders. Out of the 635 summaries received from the nuclear data community, 393 were selected for presentation at the conference and 339 are included in these proceedings. The final programme consisted of two opening talks, one banquet speech, six plenary talks, 32 invited talks, 130 oral presentations 195 poster presentations. (authors)

[en] Nucleon radiative capture is one of the most important process for nucleo-synthesis calculations in astrophysics. The nucleon capture can occur in two different mechanisms: the compound reaction and the direct-semidirect (DSD) process. The compound capture cross sections become very small when many neutron channels open because the neutron width becomes much larger than the γ width. For incident nucleon energies above about 5 MeV, the capture process can be described by the DSD theory only. In the DSD process, the incident particle is captured directly by an unoccupied bound state (direct) or it excites a collective state and is then scattered into a bound state (semidirect). In this picture, the calculation is sensitive to the radial wave functions of the bound state, which are often calculated with a single-particle model using a Wood-Saxon potential. For astrophysical calculations, since experimental information on nuclear structure is uncertain or inaccessible, we apply a Hartree-Fock-BCS (HFBCS) structure model to generate the radial wave functions. The DSD cross sections are obtained by calculating a transition amplitude to the HFBCS states and using the calculated spectroscopic factors. We calculate the neutron capture cross sections for even-even spherical and deformed targets, namely ²⁰⁸Pb, ^122,132Sn and ²³⁸U. The agreement with the experimental cross sections, only available for ²⁰⁸Pb and ²³⁸U, is very good. (authors)

[en] The Continuum Discretized Coupled Channels (CDCC) equations have been extended to rotational nuclei. Within this approach, the deuteron breakup channels and the target excitations are treated simultaneously and one can calculate both the elastic and the inelastic cross sections. Comparisons of the calculated elastic and inelastic differential cross sections with experimental data have been performed for deuteron incident on ¹¹⁶Sn, ⁹⁰Zr at 183 MeV and on ⁷⁰Ge, ⁷²Ge, ²⁴Mg, ¹⁶O at 171 MeV. Calculations have also been done for ²⁴Mg and ¹²C targets for incident energies between 60 and 90 MeV. A satisfactory overall agreement has been obtained. (author)

[en] On the basis of the recent knowledge that the decay data measured by Total Absorption Gamma-ray Spectrometer (TAGS) is free from the so-called pandemonium effect (the missing of β-strengths is inevitable in the high excitation energy range of complicated decay schemes of nucleus having high Q_β-value), the prediction power of the gross theory of beta-decay was studied. By comparing the theoretical prediction with the INEL/TAGS data, we conclude that the gross theory predicts well the total energy release, or E_β + E_γ. However, when E_β and E_γ are dealt with separately, the prediction power of the theory has a limitation. This is one of the reasons why we need further TAGS measurements

[en] This works presents the results of activation-aided determination of threshold reaction rates in 92 ²⁰⁹Bi, natPb, ¹⁹⁷Au, ¹⁸¹Ta, ¹⁶⁹Tm, natIn, ⁹³Nb, ⁶⁴Zn, ⁶⁵Cu, ⁶³Cu, ⁵⁹Co, ¹⁹F, and ¹²C samples and in 121 ²⁷Al samples. All the samples are aligned with the proton beam axis inside and outside the demountable 92-cm thick Pb target of 15-cm diameter assembled of 23 4-cm thick discs. The samples are placed on 12 target disks to reproduce the long axis distribution of protons and neutrons. In June 2006, the target was exposed for 18 hours to a 800-MeV proton beam extracted from the ITEP U-10 accelerator. The proton fluence and the proton beam shape were determined using the ²⁷Al(p,x)⁷Be monitor reaction. The total number of protons onto the target was (6.0 ± 0.5)*10¹⁵. The reaction rates were determined by the direct gamma-spectrometry techniques. The GC-2518 detectors of 1.8 keV resolution and the DGDK-60V detectors of 2.9 keV resolution at the 1332 keV gamma-line were used to take the measurements. In total, 1196 gamma-spectra have been measured, and about 1500 reaction rates determined. The measured reaction rates were simulated by the MCNPX code using the following databases: Endf/B6 for neutrons below 20 MeV, MENDL2 for 20-100 MeV neutrons, and MENDL2P for proton cross sections up to 200 MeV. An acceptable agreement of simulations with experimental data has been found. (authors)

[en] Very neutron-rich nuclei near the A = 195 r-process waiting point were produced as projectile fragments from a ²⁰⁸Pb primary beam at GSI, Darmstadt, by cold fragmentation. After in-flight separation, the fragments were implanted in an active catcher, and time correlations to the subsequent beta-decay were established. Due to the periodic operation cycles of the synchrotron, providing the primary beam, the background shows a complex time structure, which prevents applying well established analytical methods to extract the half-life information. A new mathematical analysis method has been developed, which is based on a Monte Carlo code, simulating the time sequence of implantation and beta detection according to the experimental conditions, leaving the beta lifetimes and the beta detection efficiency as free parameters. In addition, both the analysis of the experimental data and the simulation were performed in time-reversed sequence. The ratio of forward/backward time spectra contains the information of the 'true' fragment-beta correlations. Half-lives were obtained from two-dimensional fits of the measured and simulated ratios of time correlations in forward- and backward-time direction by the least-squares method, being the lifetime and the beta-detection efficiency the two fitting parameters. Half-lives of 8 heavy neutron-rich nuclei approaching the r-process waiting point A = 195 have been determined. (authors)

[en] This paper considers the decay heat and radiation source terms from a perspective based upon recent validation results for JEFF-3.1. Currently used fuel and reactor systems have sufficient measurements of irradiated fuel to justify safety cases, however until such measurements are available for novel systems these must be studied based upon the accuracy to which important nuclides can be determined from the basic nuclear data, both the individual nuclide concentrations calculated and their uncertainties must be considered and the subsequent effect on operation parameters and costs estimated. It should be noted that future facilities will need to be designed for both the calculated quantities and, typically, twice the uncertainty on the important operational parameters. Any nuclear data which dominates the uncertainties need to be identified as well as any biases so that improvements can be made to the basic nuclear data. An initial study is described considering only thermal reactors and some conclusions made about how these could be extended for novel systems. (author)

[en] Nuclear power plants are intense sources of antineutrinos. Their energy spectrum and emitted flux depend on the composition of the nuclear fuel and on the thermal power of the reactor. These properties led to potential applications of neutrino physics: they could be used to non intrusively monitor a nuclear reactor. To this purpose, a better knowledge of the antineutrino energy spectra arising from uranium and plutonium isotope fission is necessary. In these proceedings we relate about on-going simulation efforts aiming at reducing the errors associated to these spectra. The comparison of our simulation results with total β-spectra measured data shows an overestimation of the high energy part of the β-spectra from ²³⁵U due to the contribution of unknown β-branches of exotic nuclei. The high energy part problem could also originate partially from what is called the 'pandemonium effect'. The generic tools under development and presented will allow to perform scenario studies on the feasibility of using antineutrinos to measure thermal power and to test to which precision the fuel composition can be deduced using these particles.

[en] The growing interest in applications involving high-energy neutrons (E > 20 MeV) demands high-quality experimental data on neutron-induced reactions. Such data have been measured with the Medley setup at the The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL), Uppsala, Sweden. It has been used to measure differential cross sections for elastic nd scattering and double-differential cross sections for light-ion production (A ≤ 4) with targets ranging from C to U and at incident neutron energies around 96 MeV. We summarize the experimental results obtained so far and compared with theoretical reaction model calculations. A new method for correcting charged-particle spectra for thick target effects has been used for data obtained with the Medley facility. The new quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam facility of TSL offers the possibility to extend these measurements up to neutron energies of 175 MeV. In January 2007, the neutron beam facility at TSL has been equipped with improved shielding and pre-collimator to reduce the background observed with Medley during the first experimental campaigns at 175 MeV to an acceptable level. We present the current status of the Medley facility after the shielding upgrade. We summarize also our ongoing projects including both measurements of light-ion production at 175 MeV from C to U targets and fission studies of U-238 in the energy region of 11 to 175 MeV. (authors)

[en] A necessary condition for the reliable modelling of the structure or evolution of the stars and of their concomitant nucleosynthesis is the availability of good quality nuclear data in a very wide area of the chart of nuclides. This short review presents a non-exhaustive list of nuclear data of astrophysics interest (masses, β-decays, thermonuclear and non-thermonuclear reaction rates) for nuclides at the bottom of the valley of nuclear stability (mainly involved in the modelling of non-explosive phases of stellar evolution), or for more or less highly exotic nuclides (to be considered in the description of stellar explosions). Special emphasis is put on the importance of providing quality nuclear data bases that can be easily used by astrophysicists. (authors)