Test of the statistical model in 96Mo with the BaF2γ calorimeter DANCE array

The gamma-ray cascades following the Mo-95(n,gamma)Mo-96 reaction were studied with the gamma calorimeter DANCE (Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments) consisting of 160 BaF2 scintillation detectors at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The gamma-ray energy spectra for different multiplicities were measured for s- and p-wave resonances below 2 keV. The shapes of these spectra were found to be in very good agreement with simulations using the DICEBOX statistical model code. The relevant model parameters used for the level density and photon strength functions were identical with those that provided the best fit of the data from a recent measurement of the thermal Mo-95(n,gamma)Mo-96 reaction with the two-step-cascade method. The reported results strongly suggest that the extreme statistical model works very well in the mass region near A=100.