0000000000049954
AUTHOR
Jorge Agramunt
Total absorption γ -ray spectroscopy of niobium isomers
15 pags. 17 figs., 5 tabs.
Total absorption studies of high priority decays for reactor applications: 86Br and 91Rb
Preliminary results from beta decay studies of nuclei that are important for reactor applications are presented. The beta decays have been studied using the total absorption technique (TAS) and the pure beams provided by the JYFLTRAP system at the IGISOL facility of the University of Jyväskylä. peerReviewed
New accurate measurements of neutron emission probabilities for relevant fission products
We have performed new accurate measurements of the beta-delayed neutron emission probability for ten isotopes of the elements Y, Sb, Te and I. These are fission products that either have a significant contribution to the fraction of delayed neutrons in reactors or are relatively close to the path of the astrophysical r process. The measurements were performed with isotopically pure radioactive beams using a constant and high efficiency neutron counter and a low noise beta detector. Preliminary results are presented for six of the isotopes and compared with previous measurements and theoretical calculations. peerReviewed
Neutron detection and γ-ray suppression using artificial neural networks with the liquid scintillators BC-501A and BC-537
Abstract In this work we present a comparison between the two liquid scintillators BC-501A and BC-537 in terms of their performance regarding the pulse-shape discrimination between neutrons and γ rays. Special emphasis is put on the application of artificial neural networks . The results show a systematically higher γ -ray rejection ratio for BC-501A compared to BC-537 applying the commonly used charge comparison method. Using the artificial neural network approach the discrimination quality was improved to more than 95% rejection efficiency of γ rays over the energy range 150 to 1000 keV for both BC-501A and BC-537. However, due to the larger light output of BC-501A compared to BC-537, neu…
Total absorption γ -ray spectroscopy of the β -delayed neutron emitters I137 and Rb95
The decays of the β-delayed neutron emitters I137 and Rb95 have been studied with the total absorption γ-ray spectroscopy technique. The purity of the beams provided by the JYFLTRAP Penning trap at the ion guide isotope separator on-line facility in Jyvaskyla allowed us to carry out a campaign of isotopically pure measurements with the decay total absorption γ-ray spectrometer, a segmented detector composed of 18 NaI(Tl) modules. The contamination coming from the interaction of neutrons with the spectrometer has been carefully studied, and we have tested the use of time differences between prompt γ rays and delayed neutron interactions to eliminate this source of contamination. Due to the s…
Determination of β -decay ground state feeding of nuclei of importance for reactor applications
12 pags., 6 figs., 3 tabs.
Strong γ-ray emission from neutron unbound states populated in β-decay: Impact on (n,γ) cross-section estimates
J. L. Taín et al. -- 6 pags., 7 figs., 1 tab. -- Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0
Total Absorption Spectroscopy of Fission Fragments Relevant for Reactor Antineutrino Spectra and Decay Heat Calculations
Volume: 111 Host publication title: WONDER-2015 Host publication sub-title: 4TH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON NUCLEAR DATA EVALUATION FOR REACTOR APPLICATIONS Isbn(print): 978-2-7598-1970-6 Beta decay of fission products is at the origin of decay heat and antineutrino emission in nuclear reactors. Decay heat represents about 7% of the reactor power during operation and strongly impacts reactor safety. Reactor antineutrino detection is used in several fundamental neutrino physics experiments and it can also be used for reactor monitoring and non-proliferation purposes. Rb-92,Rb-93 are two fission products of importance in reactor antineutrino spectra and decay heat, but their beta-decay properti…
Total absorption spectroscopy of fission fragments relevant for reactor antineutrino spectra
International audience; The accurate determination of reactor antineutrino spectra remains a very active research topic for which new methods of study have emerged in recent years. Indeed, following the long-recognized reactor anomaly (measured antineutrino deficit in short baseline reactor experiments when compared with spectral predictions), the three international reactor neutrino experiments Double Chooz, Daya Bay and Reno have recently demonstrated the existence of spectral distortions in their measurements with respect to the same predictions. These spectral predictions were obtained through the conversion of integral beta-energy spectra obtained at the ILL research reactor. Several s…
Measurement of fission products β decay properties using a total absorption spectrometer
In a nuclear reactor, the decay of fission fragments is at the origin of decay heat and antineutrino flux. These quantities are not well known while they are very important for reactor safety and for our understanding of neutrino physics. One reason for the discrepancies observed in the estimation of the decay heat and antineutrinos flux coming from reactors could be linked with the Pandemonium effect. New measurements have been performed at the JYFL facility of Jyvaskyla with a Total Absorption Spectrometer (TAS) in order to circumvent this effect. An overview of the TAS technique and first results from the 2009 measurement campaign will be presented. © Owned by the authors, published by E…
MONSTER: a time of flight spectrometer for β-delayed neutron emission measurements
The knowledge of the β-decay properties of nuclei contributes decisively to our understanding of nuclear phenomena: the β-delayed neutron emission of neutron rich nuclei plays an important role in the nucleosynthesis r-process and constitutes a probe for nuclear structure of very neutron rich nuclei providing information about the high energy part of the full beta strength (Sβ) function. In addition, β-delayed neutrons are essential for the control and safety of nuclear reactors. In order to determine the neutron energy spectra and emission probabilities from neutron precursors a MOdular Neutron time-of-flight SpectromeTER (MONSTER) has been proposed for the DESPEC experiment at the future …
Reactor Decay Heat inPu239: Solving theγDiscrepancy in the 4–3000-s Cooling Period
The {beta} feeding probability of {sup 102,104,105,106,107}Tc, {sup 105}Mo, and {sup 101}Nb nuclei, which are important contributors to the decay heat in nuclear reactors, has been measured using the total absorption technique. We have coupled for the first time a total absorption spectrometer to a Penning trap in order to obtain sources of very high isobaric purity. Our results solve a significant part of a long-standing discrepancy in the {gamma} component of the decay heat for {sup 239}Pu in the 4-3000 s range.
Shapes ofPb192,190ground states fromβ-decay studies using the total-absorption technique
The beta decay of Pb-192,Pb-190 has been studied using the total absorption technique at the ISOLDE (CERN) facility. The beta-decay strength deduced from the measurements, combined with QRPA theoretical calculations, allow us to infer that the ground states of the Pb-192,Pb-190 isotopes are spherical. These results represent the first application of the shape determination method using the total absorption technique for heavy nuclei and in a region where there is considerable interest in nuclear shapes and shape effects.
Summation Calculations for Reactor Antineutrino Spectra, Decay Heat and Delayed Neutron Fractions Involving New TAGS Data and Evaluated Databases
9 pags., 3 figs. -- Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0
Improvements on Decay Heat Summation Calculations by Means of Total Absorption Gamma-ray Spectroscopy Measurements
The decay heat of fission products plays an important role in predictions of the heat released by nuclear fuel in reactors. In this contribution we present results of the analysis of the measurement of the beta decay of some refractory isotopes that were considered possible important contributors to the decay heat in reactors. The measurements presented here were performed at the IGISOL facility of the University of Jyvaeskylae, Finland. In our measurements we have combined for the first time a Penning trap (JYFLTRAP), which was used as a high resolution isobaric separator, with a total absorption spectrometer. The results of the measurements as well as their consequences for decay heat sum…
MONSTER: a TOF Spectrometer for beta-delayed Neutron Spectroscopy
β-delayed neutron (DN) data, including emission probabilities, Pn, and energy spectrum, play an important role in our understanding of nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics and nuclear technologies. A MOdular Neutron time-of-flight SpectromeTER (MONSTER) is being built for the measurement of the neutron energy spectra and branching ratios. The TOF spectrometer will consist of one hundred liquid scintillator cells covering a significant solid angle. The MONSTER design has been optimized by using Monte Carlo (MC) techniques. The response function of the MONSTER cell has been characterized with mono-energetic neutron beams and compared to dedicated MC simulations.
Characterization and performance of the DTAS detector
11 pags., 16 figs., 3 tabs.
Enhancedγ-Ray Emission from Neutron Unbound States Populated inβDecay
Total absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate the β-decay intensity to states above the neutron separation energy followed by γ-ray emission in (87,88)Br and (94)Rb. Accurate results are obtained thanks to a careful control of systematic errors. An unexpectedly large γ intensity is observed in all three cases extending well beyond the excitation energy region where neutron penetration is hindered by low neutron energy. The γ branching as a function of excitation energy is compared to Hauser-Feshbach model calculations. For (87)Br and (88)Br the γ branching reaches 57% and 20%, respectively, and could be explained as a nuclear structure effect. Some of the states populated in the daug…
Characterization of a cylindrical plastic {\beta}-detector with Monte Carlo simulations of optical photons
V. Guadilla et al. -- 5 pags., 8 figs., tab.
Large Impact of the Decay of Niobium Isomers on the Reactor ν¯e Summation Calculations
Even mass neutron-rich niobium isotopes are among the principal contributors to the reactor antineutrino energy spectrum. They are also among the most challenging to measure due to the refractory nature of niobium, and because they exhibit isomeric states lying very close in energy. The beta-intensity distributions of Nb-100gs,Nb-100m and Nb-102gs,Nb-02m beta decays have been determined using the total absorption.-ray spectroscopy technique. The measurements were performed at the upgraded Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility at the University of Jyvaskyla. Here, the double Penning trap system JYFLTRAP was employed to disentangle the beta decay of the isomeric states. The new data ob…
Total absorption study of theβdecay of102,104,105Tc
The $\ensuremath{\beta}$-feeding probabilities for three important contributors to the decay heat in nuclear reactors, namely ${}^{102,104,105}$Tc, have been measured using the total absorption spectroscopy technique. For the measurements, sources of very high isobaric purity have been obtained using a Penning trap (JYFLTRAP). A detailed description of the data analysis is given and the results are compared with high-resolution measurements and theoretical calculations.
TAGS measurements of $^{100}$Nb ground and isomeric states and $^{140}$Cs for neutrino physics with the new DTAS detector
V. Guadilla et al. -- 4 pags., 6 figs. -- Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0
Total absorption spectroscopy study of the β decay of Br86 and Rb91
The beta decays of 86Br and 91Rb have been studied using the total absorption spectroscopy technique. The radioactive nuclei were produced at the IGISOL facility in Jyvaskyla and further purified using the JYFLTRAP. 86Br and 91Rb are considered high priority contributors to the decay heat in reactors. In addition 91Rb was used as a normalization point in direct measurements of mean gamma energies released in the beta decay of fission products by Rudstam et al. assuming that this decay was well known from high-resolution measurements. Our results shows that both decays were suffering from the Pandemonium effect and that the results of Rudstam et al. should be renormalized.
Disentangling decaying isomers and searching for signatures of collective excitations in β decay
6 pags., 3 figs., 1 tab. -- 27th International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC2019) 29 July - 2 August 2019, Glasgow, UK