Neutron-induced \(\alpha \) and Multi-particle Emissions on \(^{60}\)Ni: Combining Experiments with Latest Evaluated Nuclear Data Files and TALYS 2.0 Model

Neutron-induced reactions on \(^{60}\)Ni were examined to study nuclear reaction mechanisms and provide a comparison with nuclear models. The analysis is based entirely on previously published experimental data, from charged-particle detection at Peking University to \(\gamma \)-ray spectroscopy at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center/Weapons Neutron Research (LANSCE/WNR) facility. Charged-particle detection provides direct insight into \(\alpha \)-particle cross sections at lower energies, while the \(\gamma \)-ray measurements allow for a reliable determination of total cross sections for residual even–even isotopes at higher energy ranges. Experimental cross sections for the \(^{60}\)Ni\((n, X)^{54,55,56,57}\)Fe reactions were collected from the Experimental Nuclear Reaction Data (EXFOR) database and compared with the newest Evaluated Nuclear Data Files (ENDF): JENDL-5, ENDF/B-VIII.1, TENDL-2023, and theoretical predictions from TALYS 2.0 extended to intermediate energies \(\sim 240\) MeV. TALYS 2.0 successfully reproduces the shape of the energy dependence of the total cross section for selected \(\alpha \)-emission channels within the theoretical uncertainty band, except for the \(^{60}\)Ni\((n, 4n2p)^{55}\)Fe channel, while the multi-nucleon emission channels at high incident-neutron energies are also in good agreement with the TALYS 2.0 predictions above \(\sim 180\) MeV. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2026 authors