γ-ray strength function for astrophysical applications in the IAEA-CRP

The γ -ray strength function (γ SF) is a nuclear quantity that governs photoabsorption in (γ, n ) and photoemission in (n, γ ) reactions. Within the framework of the γ -ray strength function method, we use (γ, n ) cross sections as experimental constraints on the γ SF from the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov plus quasiparticle-random phase approximation based on the Gogny D1M interaction for E1 and M1 components. The experimentally constrained γ SF is further supplemented with the zero-limit M 1 and E 1 strengths to construct the downward γ SF with which (n, γ ) cross sections are calculated. We investigate (n, γ ) cross sections in the context of astrophysical applications over the nickel and barium isotopic chains along the s-process path.