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We describe the next generation general purpose Evaluated Nuclear Data File, ENDF/B-VII.0, of recommended nuclear data for advanced nuclear science and technology applications. The library, released by the U.S. Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG) in December 2006, contains data primarily for reactions with incident neutrons, protons, and photons on almost 400 isotopes. The new evaluations are based on both experimental data and nuclear reaction theory predictions.The principal advances over the previous ENDF/B-VI library are the following: (1) New cross sections for U, Pu, Th, Np and Am actinide isotopes, with improved performance in integral validation criticality and neutron transmission benchmark tests; (2) More precise standard cross sections for neutron reactions on H, 6 Li, 10 B, Au and for 235,238 U fission, developed by a collaboration with the IAEA and the OECD/NEA Working Party on Evaluation Cooperation (WPEC); (3) Improved thermal neutron scattering; (4) An extensive set of neutron cross sections on fission products developed through a WPEC collaboration; (5) A large suite of photonuclear reactions; (6) Extension of many neutron-and proton-induced reactions up to an energy of 150 MeV; (7) Many new light nucleus neutron and proton reactions; (8) Post-fission beta-delayed photon decay spectra; (9) New radioactive decay data; and (10) New methods developed to provide uncertainties and covariances, together with covariance evaluations for some sample cases.The paper provides an overview of this library, consisting of 14 sublibraries in the same, ENDF-6 format, as the earlier ENDF/B-VI library. We describe each of the 14 sublibraries, focusing on neutron reactions. Extensive validation, using radiation transport codes to simulate measured critical assemblies, show major improvements: (a) The long-standing underprediction of low enriched U thermal assemblies is removed; (b) The 238 U, 208 Pb, and 9 Be reflector biases in fast systems are largely removed; (c) ENDF/B-VI.8 good agreement for simulations of highly enriched uranium assemblies is preserved; (d) The underprediction of fast criticality of 233,235 U and 239 Pu assemblies is removed; and (e) The intermediate spectrum critical assemblies are predicted more accurately.We anticipate that the new library will play an important role in nuclear technology applications, including transport simulations supporting national security, nonproliferation, advanced reactor and fuel cycle concepts, criticality safety, medicine, space applications, nuclear astrophysics, and nuclear physics facility design. The ENDF/B-VII.0 library is archived at the National Nuclear Data Center,

We have made new, improved measurements of the Si28-30 (n, gamma) cross sections and have done a resonance analysis of these data including previous total cross sections. Together with the calculated contributions due to direct capture, we calculated the astrophysical (n, gamma) reaction rates and investigated the s-process abundances of the Si isotopes. Measured isotopic anomalies of intermediate and heavy elements in SiC grains from meteorites appear to be attributable to the s-process in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. But the Si isotopic ratios in these grains are substantially different than s-process models predict. Therefore, recent papers have invoked galactic chemical evolution or other effects to explain the Si isotope ratios in these grains. Our new reaction rates are significantly different than previous rates, and s-process calculations using these rates lead to much larger isotopic shifts in Si-30. However, these exploratory calculations demonstrate that even with these substantially different rates the large observed variation in SiC grain from AGB stars cannot be explained by standard s-process models

New neutron capture cross sections of 58,60 Ni were measured in the energy range from 100 eV to 600 keV using the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator. The combination of these new neutron capture data with previous transmission data allowed a resonance analysis up to 900 keV using R-matrix theory. The theoretically determined direct capture cross sections were included in the analyses. From these resonance parameters and the direct capture contribution, new (n,γ ) astrophysical reaction rates were determined over the entire energy range needed by the latest stellar models describing the so-called weak s process.

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