The ( \gamma , n ) reaction rates of the isotopes ^ { 196 , 198 , 204 } Hg and ^ { 204 } Pb have been determined using the photoactivation technique in an energy region relevant for p process nucleosynthesis .
The systematic study of the ground-state ( \gamma , n ) reaction rates on even-even nuclei in the mass region Z \geq 78 is complemented with these experiments .
The data are compared to rates predicted in the framework of two statistical model approaches .