TITLE:
Proton-Induced Reaction on 169Tm up to 200 MeV and the Production of the Therapeutic Radionuclide 169Yb
AUTHORS:
Sukarna Banik, Md. Kawchar Ahmed Patwary, Hasan Murad
KEYWORDS:
169Tm(p, n)169Yb Reaction, Therapeutic Radionuclide 169Yb, TALYS-2.0, Nuclear Level Density Models, Excitation Function
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology,
Vol.16 No.3,
July
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: A systematic theoretical investigation of proton-induced nuclear reactions on 169Tm was performed using the TALYS-2.0 nuclear reaction code for incident proton energies up to 200 MeV. Excitation functions were calculated for the 169Tm(p, n+α)165Er, 169Tm(p, α)166Er, 169Tm(p, 3He)167Er, 169Tm(p, t)167Tm, 169Tm(p, n+p)168Tm, 169Tm(p, 4n)166Yb, 169Tm(p, 3n)167Yb, 169Tm(p, 2n)168Yb, 169Tm(p, n)169Yb, and 169Tm(p, γ)170Yb reaction channels using six nuclear level density models (CTM, BFM, GSM, SHFB, SHFB(C), and GHFB). Particular attention was given to the medically important 169Tm(p, n)169Yb reaction for the production of the therapeutic radionuclide 169Yb. The calculated excitation functions were compared with available experimental data from the EXFOR database and the TENDL-2023 evaluated library. Model performance was assessed through statistical deviation factors (F, D, and R), revealing that no single level density model consistently outperformed the others across all reactions and datasets. Phenomenological models generally showed better agreement with TENDL-2023 evaluations, whereas microscopic models provided improved consistency with several experimental measurements. The 169Tm(p, n)169Yb reaction exhibited an optimum energy region around 10 - 15 MeV, with a maximum cross section near 11 MeV. Production characteristics, including activity, production amount, and integral yield, confirmed the feasibility of accelerator-based 169Yb production. The present results provide valuable nuclear data for reaction channels lacking experimental information and support the development of reliable production routes for 169Yb in nuclear medicine applications.