Photoneutron cross section measurements on 208Pb

Photoneutron reactions on 208Pb in the Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) energy range have been investigated at the γ-ray beam line of the NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility in Japan. Making use of quasi-monochromatic laser Compton scattering (LCS) γ-ray beams and of a novel flat-efficiency neutron detection system along with associated neutron-multiplicity sorting method, total and partial (γ,xn) photoneutron cross sections with x = 1 to 4 have been measured for 208Pb in a broad energy range covering the neutron threshold up to 38 MeV.