PANDORA Project for the study of photonuclear reactions below A=60

Photonuclear reactions of light nuclei below a mass of A = 60 are planned to be studied experimentally and theoretically with the PANDORA (Photo-Absorption of Nuclei and Decay Observation for Reactions in Astrophysics) project. Two experimental methods, virtual photon excitation by proton scattering and real photo absorption by a high-brilliance ?-ray beam produced by laser Compton scattering, will be applied to measure the photoabsorption cross sections and decay branching ratio of each decay channel as a function of the photon energy. Several nuclear models, e.g. anti-symmetrized molecular dynamics, mean-field and beyond-mean-field models, a large-scale shell model, and ab initio models, will be employed to predict the photonuclear reactions. The uncertainty in the model predictions will be evaluated based on the discrepancies between the model predictions and experimental data. The data and predictions will be implemented in the general reaction calculation code, TALYS. The results will be applied to the simulation of the photo-disintegration process of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in inter-galactic propagation.

Automated summary

The PANDORA project aims to study photonuclear reactions of light nuclei below a mass of A = 60 through experimental and theoretical research. Two experimental methods, virtual photon excitation and real photo absorption, will be used to measure photoabsorption cross sections and decay branching ratio as a function of photon energy. Various nuclear models will be employed to predict photonuclear reactions and evaluate uncertainty based on discrepancies between predictions and experimental data. The results will be implemented in the reaction calculation code TALYS for simulating the photo-disintegration process of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in inter-galactic propagation.