Measurement of thick-target high-energy γ-ray yields from the 19F(p,αγ)16O reaction

We measured the photon yields for proton energies between 1.5 and 4.25 MeV using both CaF2 and MgF2 solid targets and SF6 gas targets. Photon yields were measured using a 7.62 cm×7.62 cm NaI scintillator detector. Detector response functions for these three individual γ-rays were calculated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP-4C. The relative intensities of the three γ-rays were determined by a least-squares fit of these response functions to the data in a selected region of the pulse-height spectrum. A maximum photon yield of 6.0×107 γ/μC/sr (at 0°) was determined for the sum of these three γ-rays at an effective proton energy of 4.0 MeV. The contribution of the individual lines to the total photon yield depends strongly on the incident proton energy.