Neutron-induced \(α \) 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 \(γ \)-ray spectroscopy at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center/Weapons Neutron Research (LANSCE/WNR) facility. Charged-particle detection provides direct insight into \(α \)-particle cross sections at lower energies, while the \(γ \)-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 \(~ 240\) MeV. TALYS 2.0 successfully reproduces the shape of the energy dependence of the total cross section for selected \(α \)-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 \(~ 180\) MeV. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2026 authors