Measurements of Photonuclear Reaction Pathways towards Promising Medical Radioisotopes

We report on measurements of photo-nuclear cross-sections which lead to the production of isotopes which are of interest in medical diagnosis and treatment sciences. Precise measurements of the cross sections of $^{\mathrm{48}}$Ti ($\gamma $, p), $^{\mathrm{48}}$Ti ($\gamma $, n), $^{\mathrm{48}}$Ti ($\gamma $, pn), $^{\mathrm{48}}$Ti ($\gamma $, 2n), $^{\mathrm{48}}$Ti ($\gamma $, \textunderscore ), $^{\mathrm{197}}$Au ($\gamma $, n) and $^{\mathrm{197}}$Au ($\gamma $, pn) were made at gamma ray energies between 22 -27 MeV. The High Intensity Gamma Ray Source (HI$\gamma $S) of Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL), a Compton $\gamma $-ray facility employing a high intensity Free-Electron Laser (FEL) produced the gamma ray beams for the study. The activity of the reaction products was measured at TUNL's low-background counting facility using High Purity Germanium detectors (HPGe). Lifetime data were fitted to obtain the isotope yields. Cross-section data are compared to calculations and other known available measurements, such as photo-nuclear cross sections of gold (Au) isotopes. This study reports on the techniques, methods, and results obtained from this measurement.