Bayesian Learning of (n,p) Reaction Cross Sections with Quantified Uncertainties

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Hauptverfasser: Saha, Arunabha, De, Songshaptak
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Saha, Arunabha
De, Songshaptak
author_facet Saha, Arunabha
De, Songshaptak
contents Accurate modeling of neutron-induced (n,p) reaction cross sections is essential for diverse applications in nuclear physics, including reactor design, nuclear astrophysics, and radionuclide production. However, experimental data are often sparse or incomplete, and theoretical results like TALYS Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (TENDL-2023) data may carry systematic uncertainties. In this work, we present a data-driven framework based on a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN), denoted as BNN-I6, to predict (n,p) reaction cross sections with quantified uncertainties. The model incorporates six physically motivated input features and is trained on Evaluated Nuclear Data from the ENDF/B-VIII.1 library. Leveraging stochastic variational inference, the BNN offers reliable uncertainty estimates in addition to accurate predictions. The performance of BNN-I6 is benchmarked against the TENDL-2023 library and experimental measurements across a wide range of nuclei. Additionally, SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) based feature-importance analysis reveals the dominant role of theoretical cross-section inputs in driving predictions. These results highlight the potential of BNN-based approaches to enhance nuclear data evaluations and support future applications in data-scarce regimes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_04789
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bayesian Learning of (n,p) Reaction Cross Sections with Quantified Uncertainties
Saha, Arunabha
De, Songshaptak
Nuclear Theory
Accurate modeling of neutron-induced (n,p) reaction cross sections is essential for diverse applications in nuclear physics, including reactor design, nuclear astrophysics, and radionuclide production. However, experimental data are often sparse or incomplete, and theoretical results like TALYS Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (TENDL-2023) data may carry systematic uncertainties. In this work, we present a data-driven framework based on a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN), denoted as BNN-I6, to predict (n,p) reaction cross sections with quantified uncertainties. The model incorporates six physically motivated input features and is trained on Evaluated Nuclear Data from the ENDF/B-VIII.1 library. Leveraging stochastic variational inference, the BNN offers reliable uncertainty estimates in addition to accurate predictions. The performance of BNN-I6 is benchmarked against the TENDL-2023 library and experimental measurements across a wide range of nuclei. Additionally, SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) based feature-importance analysis reveals the dominant role of theoretical cross-section inputs in driving predictions. These results highlight the potential of BNN-based approaches to enhance nuclear data evaluations and support future applications in data-scarce regimes.
title Bayesian Learning of (n,p) Reaction Cross Sections with Quantified Uncertainties
topic Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.04789