  The cross section for the reaction 127I(neutrino,electron)127Xe_(bound
states) has been measured for electron neutrinos from the decay of stopped
muons to be [2.84 +/- 0.91 (stat) +/- 0.25 (syst)] x 10^(-40) cm^2. A tank
containing 1540 kg of 127I in the form of NaI solution was placed 8.53 m from
the LAMPF beamstop where it received a typical flux of 5 x 10^7 neutrinos/(cm^2
s). The 127Xe atoms produced by neutrino capture were extracted from the target
solution, placed in miniature proportional counters, and their number was
determined by counting. This is the first measurement of a neutrino capture
cross section for an I nucleus and is in good agreement with a recent
calculation.

Nuclear Experiment