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

The γ-ray strength function (γSF) 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 γSF from the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov plus quasiparticle-random phase approximation based on the Gogny D1M interaction for E1 and M1 components. The experimentally constrained γSF is further supplemented with the zero-limit M1 and E1 strengths to construct the downward γSF 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.