The neutron capture cross section of 26Mg was measured relative to the known
gold cross section at thermonuclear energies using the fast cyclic activation
technique. The experiment was performed at the 3.75 MV Van-de-Graaff
accelerator, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The experimental capture cross
section is the sum of resonant and direct contributions. For the resonance at
E(n,lab) = 220 keV our new results are in disagreement with the data from
Weigmann et al. An improved Maxwellian averaged capture cross section is
derived from the new experimental data taking into account s- and p-wave
capture and resonant contributions. The properties of so-called potential
resonances which influence the p-wave neutron capture of 26}Mg are discussed in
detail.
Preprint
Comment: 15 pages (uses Revtex), 7 postscript figures (uses psfig.sty),
accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C
Subjects: Nuclear Experiment; Astrophysics; Nuclear Theory