Photonuclear reactions play a central role in the study of the structure of atomic nuclei. For this purpose, one bombards a sample with an intense and high-energy photon beam and studies the nuclear reactions induced.

Recently, experiments on the nuclei Sm-154 and Ce-140 were successfully performed at the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) at the renowned Duke University in the USA. The aim is to investigate the decay properties of the so-called giant dipole resonance in more detail for the first time using photonuclear reactions.

In this bachelor thesis, the recorded γ-spectra will be evaluated for discrete transitions at low γ-energies. The results of this work will contribute to our understanding of the excitation and decay behavior of the giant dipole resonance.