Gamma strength functions (GSF) describe the average γ-decay behavior of a nucleus. GSFs, one of the fundamental properties of atomic nuclei, form the basis for evaluating neutron capture cross sections, which play a central role in astrophysical nucleosynthesis models and stellar evolution in reactor design, waste transformation, and applcations of nuclear theory.

The nuclear physics group at the University of Oslo has developed the Oslo method based on the Brink-Axel hypothesis, which allows the extraction of GSFs around the Sn energy region. The method has been used to determine the GSFs of many even-even and odd-A nuclei located in different regions of the periodic table. However, it is not yet possible to determine experimentally the E1 and M1 contributions to the obtained GSFs. These contributions can only be predicted by microscopic theoretical approaches. On the other hand, it is a major shortcoming that these experimental results have not been compared in detail with any theoretical approach so far.

This project, designed to overcome these shortcomings, is the first detailed microscopic study in which theGSFs of odd-A ^145-151Nd, ¹⁴⁹Sm, ^161,163Dy, ¹⁶⁷Ho, ¹⁶⁷Er, ¹⁷¹Yb,deformed nuclei in the rare earth region of the periodic table, ¹⁸¹Ta in the transition region and ^231,233Th, ²³³Pa, ^237,239U,²⁴³Pu deformed nuclei will be theoretically investigated.