ENSDF Database Modernization with Python API*

The Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF) is a database that contains the level and decay properties for over 3,300 nuclides. ENSDF is accessible to anyone through the National Nuclear Data Center’s (NNDC) website. It is a highly used database with over 4.5 million data retrievals in 2019. However, its 80-column ASCII format makes it difficult to update and use. As such, the NNDC is working on a project that will update ENSDF to an object-oriented database. The database includes indexes, or “views,” that can be used to sort and filter data very efficiently.  For example, a search through all ~200,000 gamma rays in the database requires only one line of code and takes ~100 ms. Researchers will be able to use the object-oriented Python3 API under development to retrieve data via the web, search, sort, and develop their own code projects. The API will also have built-in plotting functions for  visualizing ENSDF data.