Incomplete fusion reaction producing ²³⁴ U, ²³³ U, and ²³² U in the ²³² Th +  ⁷ Li reaction

Abstract The nuclide of 237 Np ( t 1/2 = 2.1 × 10 6 y), produced in nuclear facilities, is important because its investigation is relevant to environmental pollution and material cycling in earth sciences. It is expected to be analyzed by mass spectrometry with a neptunium tracer as a spike, such as 236g Np ( t 1/2 = 1.5 × 10 5 y). Our research group has collected fundamental data for cross-sections of the 232 Th + 7 Li reaction products for use in spike production and chemical separation. In addition to the complete fusion reaction producing Np nuclides, incomplete fusion also occurs, especially in the reaction of 7 Li, which splits into α and t and only a part of the projectile fuses with the target nucleus. In this study, the excitation functions of 234 U, 233 U, and 232 U, produced by the incomplete fusion, were measured. The reaction mechanism is discussed by comparing the experimental values with those calculated using the EMPIRE code. In addition, we investigated the effect of incomplete fusion on the overall reaction.