First observation of low-energy {gamma}-ray enhancement in the rare-earth region

The {gamma}-ray strength function and level density in the quasi-continuum of 151,153Sm have been measured using BGO shielded Ge clover detectors of the STARLiTeR system. The Compton shields allow for an extraction of the {gamma} strength down to unprecedentedly low {gamma} energies of about 500 keV. For the first time an enhanced low- energy {gamma}-ray strength has been observed in the rare-earth region. In addition, for the first time both the upbend and the well known scissors resonance have been observed simultaneously for the same nucleus. Hauser-Feshbach calculations show that this strength enhancement at low {gamma} energies could have an impact of 2-3 orders of magnitude on the (n,{gamma}) reaction rates for the r-process nucleosynthesis.