Statistical decay of giant resonances

Statistical calculations to predict the neutron spectrum resulting from the decay of giant resonances are discussed. The dependence of the results on the optical potential parametrization and on the level density of the residual nucleus is assessed. A Hauser-Feshbach calculation is performed for the decay of the monopole giant resonance in ${}_{}{}^{208}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Pb}$ using the experimental levels of ${}_{}{}^{207}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Pb}$ from a recent compilation. The calculated statistical decay is in excellent agreement with recent experimental data, showing that the decay of this resonance is dominantly statistical, as predicted by continuum random phase approximation calculations.