Photoneutron cross sections for neodymium isotopes: Toward a unified understanding of (γ,n) and (n,γ) reactions in the rare earth region

Photoneutron cross sections were measured for five stable Nd isotopes, 143,144,145,146,148Nd, near neutron threshold with highly monochromatic laser-Compton scattering γ rays. The photoneutron data were compared with the calculations performed with the talys reaction code with inputs of the Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) plus quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA) model and the axially symmetric deformed Gogny HFB plus QRPA model of E1 γ-ray strength. Using the γ-ray strength function constrained by the present photoneutron data, a thorough analysis of the reverse (n,γ) cross sections is made. Radiative neutron capture cross sections for an s-process branching-point nucleus in the rare earth region, Nd147 with the half-life 10.98 d, are deduced with the γ-ray strength function method. The impact of the newly evaluated 147Nd(n,γ)148Nd cross section on s-process nucleosynthesis is discussed.