Progress of photonuclear cross sections for medical radioisotope production at the SLEGS energy domain

Abstract

Photonuclear reactions using a laser Compton scattering (LCS) gamma source provide a new method for producing radioisotopes for medical applications. Compared with the conventional method, this method has the advantages of a high specific activity and less heat. Initiated by the Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source (SLEGS), we conducted a survey of potential photonuclear reactions, $(\upgamma,n)$, $(\upgamma,p)$, and $(\upgamma,\upgamma')$ whose cross-sections can be measured at SLEGS by summarizing the experimental progress. In general, the data are rare and occasionally inconsistent. Therefore, theoretical calculations are often used to evaluate the production of medical radioisotopes. Subsequently, we verified the model uncertainties of the widely used reaction code TALYS-1.96, using the experimental data of the \ce{^100Mo}$(\upgamma,n)$\ce{^99Mo}, \ce{^65Cu}$(\upgamma,n)$\ce{^64Cu}, and \ce{^68Zn}$(\upgamma,p)$\ce{^67Cu} reactions.