Nuclear level density and thermal properties of 115Sn from neutron evaporation
Abstract
The nuclear level density of 115Sn has been measured in an excitation energy range of 2 - 9 MeV using the experimental neutron evaporation spectra from the 115In(p,n)115Sn reaction. The experimental level densities were compared with the microscopic Hartree-Fock BCS (HFBCS), Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov plus combinatorial (HFB+C), and an exact pairing plus independent particle model (EP+IPM) calculations. It is observed that the EP+IPM provides the most accurate description of the experimental data. The thermal properties (entropy and temperature) of 115Sn have been investigated from the measured level densities. The experimental temperature profile as well as the calculated heat capacity show distinct signatures of a transition from the strongly-paired nucleonic phase to the weakly paired one in this nucleus.