Gamma Rays from the Low-Energy Proton Bombardment of Beryllium

The gamma radiation produced in the Be⁹(p, γ)B¹⁰ reaction at proton energies of approximately 300 kev was investigated with scintillation spectrometers. A three-crystal scintillation spectrometer detected 6.7±{}0.15, 6.0±{}0.1, 5.1±{}0.1, and 4.7±{}0.15-Mev gamma rays with relative intensities (±{}25 percent) of 0.15, 0.40, 1.00 and 0.45, respectively. A thick target yield of (1.2±{}0.3)×{}10^-10 gamma per proton at 315-kev proton energy was measured for gamma radiation of 5.1-Mev energy. These gamma rays are produced in transitions to the ground-state and low-lying levels in B¹⁰ and their relative intensities and yield imply spin 1^- for the level at 6.89 Mev. A limited single-crystal spectrometer detected 0.41±{}0.02, 0.72±{}0.02, 1.03±{}0.03, and 1.43±{}0.03-Mev gamma rays corresponding to transitions between the low-lying levels in B¹⁰. The angular correlation of the 0.72- and 1.03-Mev gamma rays was found to be consistent with a spin of 1⁺ or 2⁺ for the first excited state of B¹⁰.