Evaluation of the excitation function for alpha particle induced reactions on the target of 59Co using PACE4 code

Theoretical excitation functions for the alpha particle-induced reactions 59 Co(α,2p4n) 57 Co, 59 Co(α,2pn) 60 Co, and 59 Co(α,4p5n) 54 Mn were analyzed and compared to the experimental excitation functions. Experimental cross sections were calculated using the PACE4 and TALYS-2.0 statistical model codes across an energy range of 33.1–54.5 MeV. PACE4 calculations used different values of level density parameters at k = 8–10, while TALYS-2.0 calculations were performed with multiple level density models (ldmodel 1–5). The analysis also examined the sensitivity and uncertainty of theoretical cross sections to changes in level density parameter. A quantitative comparison of the experimental and theoretical excitation functions was performed using calculations of reduced chi-square (χ 2 red ) and normalized root mean square deviations (NRMSD). The findings indicate that PACE4 calculations more accurately reflect both the size and form of the experimental excitation functions compared to TALYS-2.0 calculations for the reaction channels studied. The quantitative analysis indicates the predominance of the compound nucleus reaction mechanism, suggesting that pre-equilibrium and direct contributions have a minimal impact within the energy ranges studied. This study provides a thorough justification for the nuclear theoretical models and offers consistent nuclear reaction data for alpha particle-induced reactions on a 59 Co target.