Deuteron-induced reactions on natural Zr from threshold to 50 MeV: production of 86gY

Two stacks of thin Zr foils were irradiated with 30 and 50 MeV deuterons, respectively, using the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88-Inch Cyclotron, and 19 excitation functions for natZr(d,x) reactions were measured over a beam energy range of 6.3–47.64 MeV, where the independent cross sections for natZr(d,x)88Nb and natZr(d,x)86m,gY were measured for the first time. The well-characterized natFe(d,x)56Co, natNi(d,x)56Co, natNi(d,x)58Co, natNi(d,x)61Cu, natTi(d,x)46Sc and natTi(d,x)48V monitor reactions were used to determine the deuteron beam current throughout the stacks. All cross sections were determined using High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector γ-ray spectroscopy. A variance minimization technique was employed to simultaneously constrain the deuteron beam currents with multiple monitor reactions, thus reducing systematic uncertainties. An additional 16 channels are reported for reactions on the nickel, titanium, and iron monitor foils, leading to a total of 35 excitation functions, with seven reaction channels reported for the first time in this work. The measured excitation functions are compared to calculations provided by the reaction modeling codes TALYS – 2.0, ALICE – 2020, CoH – 3.5.3 and EMPIRE – 3.2.3, as well as the TENDL – 2023 data library. The degree of agreement between theory and experiments is discussed. The possible production of the important PET radionuclide 86gY via the natZr(d,x) route was critically examined. The physical yields for natZr(d,x)86Y and other yttrium isotopes produced were calculated and compared to other production pathways. Due to high-level of associated radionuclide impurities, this route cannot deliver 86gY suitable for medical applications.