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, Nd-143,Nd-144,Nd-145,Nd-146,Nd-148, near neutron threshold with highly monochromatic laser-Compton scattering gamma 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 gamma-ray strength. Using the gamma-ray strength function constrained by the present photoneutron data, a thorough analysis of the reverse (n, gamma) cross sections is made. Radiative neutron capture cross sections for an s-process branching-point nucleus in the rare earth region, Nd-147 with the half-life 10.98 d, are deduced with the gamma-ray strength function method. The impact of the newly evaluated Nd-147(n, gamma)Nd-148 cross section on s-process nucleosynthesis is discussed.