A new ¹⁸¹Ta neutron resolved resonance region evaluation

A new ¹⁸¹Ta neutron resolved resonance region evaluation has been performed from the thermal energy range up to approximately 2.5 keV. The R-matrix SAMMY code was used with the Reich–Moore approximation to evaluate resonance parameters from several experimental data sets. A Monte Carlo approach was used for resonance spin assignments and generating 59 small fictitious resonance levels which were shown to improve the cumulative level, Porter-Thomas, and Wigner distributions as compared to theoretical predictions. Covariance information was also generated for the entire resolved resonance region. The positive impact of the new evaluation was validated through benchmark calculations which were sensitive to the ¹⁸¹Ta cross section and showed improvement in the reactivity bias for several benchmark cases.