Extension of the EMPIRE code to the resonance region

Abstract
The preliminary version of a new module has been developed to be added to the nuclear reaction model code EMPIRE to allow for an evaluation of neutron cross sections in a resonance region. It automates most of the evaluation procedures and can be executed within EMPIRE or as a stand-alone program. The module includes a graphic user interface (GUI) and a number of codes and scripts that read individual, as well as average, resonance parameters from the Atlas of Neutron Resonances and other physical constants from RIPL-2, perform an analysis of the available resonances, carry out statistical distributions, and compute cross sections in resolved and unresolved resonance regions which are then compared with experimental data. The module also provides an ENDF-formatted file for a resonance region and various plots allowing for a verification of the procedure. The formatted file can be integrated later into the final ENDF-6 file as generated by the EMPIRE code. However, as a preliminary version, extensive testing and further improvements are needed before this new capability can be incorporated into the production version of EMPIRE.