The experimental setup SCANDAL used for measurements of the differential cross section for elastic and inelastic neutron scattering, has recently been upgraded with larger CsI scintillating detectors to enable measurements at energies up to 175 MeV. Measurements on Fe. Bi and Si have been carried out using the quasi mono-energetic neutron beam at the The Svedberg Laboratory, and data is under analysis. The experimental setup can be used for measurements on a wide range of target nuclei, including C and O, which are important for dosimetry applications. SCANDAL can also run in proton mode, for measurements of the (n,p) reaction. This paper describes the new experimental setup, and reports on its properties, such as energy resolution.
We have measured double differential cross sections (DDX) for emission of hydrogen- and helium-isotopes in the interaction of 175 MeV quasi-monoenergetic neutrons with Fe and Bi using the Medley setup at the The Svedberg Laboratory (Uppsala, Sweden). We compared experimental DDX with calculations with the TALYS code, which includes exciton model and Kalbach systematics; the code fails to reproduce the emission of complex light-ions, generally overestimating it. We propose an correction for the application of the Kalbach phenomenological model in the TALYS code by introducing a new energy dependence for the nucleon transfer mechanism in the pre-equilibrium emission region. Our results suggest also evidence for multiple pre-equilibrium emission of composite particles at 175 MeV.
We have measured light-ion (p, d, t, He-3 and alpha) production in the interaction of 175 MeV neutrons with iron and bismuth with low-energy thresholds and for a wide angular range (from 20 degrees to 160 degrees, in steps of 20 degrees). Measurements have been performed with the Medley setup, semi-permanently installed at the The Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala (Sweden), where a quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam is available and well characterized. Medley is a conventional spectrometer system and consists of eight telescopes, each of them composed of two silicon surface barrier detectors, to perform particle identification, and a CsI(Tl) scintillator to fully measure the kinetic energy of the produced light-ions. We report preliminary double-differential cross sections for production of protons, deuterons and tritons in comparison with model calculations using TALYS-1.0 code. These show better agreement for the production of protons, while the theoretical calculations seem to overestimate the experimental production of deuterons and tritons.
We have measured double-differential (angle and energy) cross sections for light-ion (p, d, t, (3)He, and a) production in the interaction of quasi-monoenergetic 175 MeV neutrons with iron and bismuth. Measurements have been performed at the The Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala (Sweden), using the Medley setup which allows low-energy thresholds and wide energy and angular ranges. Medley is a spectrometer system consisting of eight three-element telescopes placed at angles from 20 degrees to 160 degrees, in steps of 20 degrees. Each telescope is composed of two silicon surface barrier detectors and a CsI(Tl) scintillator, to perform particle identification, fully stop the produced light-ions and measure their kinetic energy. The time-of-flight was used to reduce the contribution from the low energy tail in the accepted incident neutron spectrum. We report double-differential production cross sections for protons, deuterons, tritons, (3)He and alpha particles and compare them with model calculations with TALYS-1.2.
Double-differential cross sections for light charged particle production (up to A=4) were measured in 96 MeV neutron-induced reactions, at the TSL Laboratory Cyclotron in Uppsala (Sweden). Measurements for three targets, Fe, Pb, and U, were performed using two independent devices, SCANDAL and MEDLEY. The data were recorded with low-energy thresholds and for a wide angular range (20°–160°). The normalization procedure used to extract the cross sections is based on the np elastic scattering reaction that we measured and for which we present experimental results. A good control of the systematic uncertainties affecting the results is achieved. Calculations using the exciton model are reported. Two different theoretical approaches proposed to improve its predictive power regarding the complex particle emission are tested. The capabilities of each approach is illustrated by comparison with the 96 MeV data that we measured, and with other experimental results available in the literature.
The present status of neutron beam production techniques above 20 MeV is discussed. Presently, two main methods are used; white beams and quasi-monoenergetic beams. The performances of these two techniques are discussed, as well as the use of such facilities for measurements of nuclear data for fundamental and applied research. Recently, two novel ideas on how to produce extremely intense neuton beams in the 100-500 MeV range have been proposed. Decay in flight of beta delayed neutron-emitting nuclei could provide beam intensities five orders of magnitudes larger than present facilities. A typical neutron energy spectrum would be essentially monoenergetic, i.e., the energy spread is about 1 MeV with essentially no lowenergy tail. A second option would be to produce beams of He-6 and dissociate the 6 He nuclei into alpha particles and neutrons. The basic features of these concepts are outlined, and the potential for improved nuclear data research is discussed.
One of the outstanding new developments in the field of partitioning and transmutation (P&T) concerns accelerator-driven systems (ADS) which consist of a combination of a high-power, high-energy accelerator, a spallation target for neutron production and a sub-critical reactor core. The development of the commercial critical reactors of today motivated a large effort on nuclear data up to about 20 MeV, and presently several million data points can be found in various data libraries. At higher energies, data are scarce or even non-existent. With the development of nuclear techniques based on neutrons at higher energies, nowadays there is a need also for higher-energy nuclear data. To provide alternative to this lack of data, a wide program on neutron-induced data related to ADS for P&T is running at the 20-180 MeV neutron beam facility at 'The Svedberg Laboratory' (TSL), Uppsala. The programme encompasses studies of elastic scattering, inelastic neutron production, i.e., (n, xn') reactions, light-ion production, fission and production of heavy residues. Recent results are presented and future program of development is outlined.
Double-differential cross sections and angular distributions of inelastic neutron scattering on C-12, Fe-56, Y-89 and Pb-208 have been measured at 96 MeV at The Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala, Sweden. Results on elastic neutron scattering at 96 MeV from these nuclei have been reported previously [1-3]. To obtain the inelastic cross sections, a forward-folding technique has been applied. A physically reasonable trial spectrum has been folded with the response function of the detector system and the output has been compared with the experimental data. To create the trial spectrum, a Gaussian has been used for the elastic part and the PRECO code [4-7] for the inelastic part. Other models were tested for the pre-equilibrium contribution and the method was found to be model independent. The response function of the detector setup has been obtained experimentally at the smallest possible angle, in this case at 9 deg. The resulting preliminary inelastic scattering data cover an excitation energy range up to 45 MeV and the angular intervals 28 to 58 degrees for C-12, 26 to 65 degrees for Fe-56 and 26 to 52 degrees for Y-89 and Pb-208. The preliminary results are discussed and compared to several model codes as well as existing experimental data for (n,n'x), (n,p'x) and (p,p'x). Possible improvements of the analysis are also discussed.
Double-differential cross sections for neutron-induced light-ion production at 96 MeV have been measured for a variety of nuclei at The Svedberg Laboratory. Using the measured cross-section data, we deduce the Kerma coefficient from carbon and oxygen for p, d, t, He-3 and alpha particles. In order to get the total Kerma for C and O, we add GNASH calculation values where experimental data are not available and obtain a Kerma coefficient of 7.85 +/- 0.63 fGy m(2) for carbon and 7.09 +/- 0.57 fGy m(2) for oxygen. The C/O Kerma coefficient ratio then becomes 1.11 +/- 0.11. In addition we determine the Kerma ratio between ICRU muscle and A-150, again adding calculations with the GNASH code where no experimental data are available, and obtain a value of 0.98 +/- 0.05. While the Kerma coefficients for carbon and oxygen do not agree with the prediction in ICRU Report 63, the ratio values are in good agreement with existing predictions.