New measurement of the 242Pu(n,γ) cross section at n-TOF-EAR1 for MOX fuels: Preliminary results in the RRR

2016

The spent fuel of current nuclear reactors contains fissile plutonium isotopes that can be combined with 238U to make mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. In this way the Pu from spent fuel is used in a new reactor cycle, contributing to the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy. The use of MOX fuels in thermal and fast reactors requires accurate capture and fission cross sections. For the particular case of 242Pu, the previous neutron capture cross section measurements were made in the 70’s, providing an uncertainty of about 35% in the keV region. In this context, the Nuclear Energy Agency recommends in its “High Priority Request List” and its report WPEC-26 that the capture cross section of 242Pu…

Abstracts from the sixth meeting of the international association of pancreatology, November 2–4, 1994, Chicago, IL

1994

7Be(n,α) and 7Be(n,p) cross-section measurement for the cosmological lithium problem at the n-TOF facility at CERN

2017

One of the most puzzling problems in Nuclear Astrophysics is the “Cosmological Lithium Problem”, i.e the discrepancy between the primordial abundance of \(^{7}\)Li observed in metal poor halo stars (Asplund et al. in Astrophys J 644:229–259, 2006, [1]), and the one predicted by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). One of the reactions that could have an impact on the problem is \(^{7}\)Be(n,p)\(^{7}\)Li. Despite of the importance of this reaction in BBN, the cross-section has never been directly measured at the energies of interest for BBN. Taking advantage of the innovative features of the second experimental area at the n\(\_\)TOF facility at CERN (Sabate-Gilarte et al. in Eur Phys J A 53:210,…

The n_TOF facility: Neutron beams for challenging future measurements at CERN

2016

The CERN n TOF neutron beam facility is characterized by a very high instantaneous neutron flux, excellent TOF resolution at the 185 m long flight path (EAR-1), low intrinsic background and coverage of a wide range of neutron energies, from thermal to a few GeV. These characteristics provide a unique possibility to perform high-accuracy measurements of neutron-induced reaction cross-sections and angular distributions of interest for fundamental and applied Nuclear Physics. Since 2001, the n TOF Collaboration has collected a wealth of high quality nuclear data relevant for nuclear astrophysics, nuclear reactor technology, nuclear medicine, etc. The overall efficiency of the experimental prog…

Be7(n,α)He4Reaction and the Cosmological Lithium Problem: Measurement of the Cross Section in a Wide Energy Range at n_TOF at CERN

2016

The energy-dependent cross section of the (7)Bed(n,alpha)He-4 reaction, of interest for the so-called cosmological lithium problem in big bang nucleosynthesis, has been measured for the first time from 10 meV to 10 keV neutron energy. The challenges posed by the short half-life of Be-7 and by the low reaction cross section have been overcome at n_TOF thanks to an unprecedented combination of the extremely high luminosity and good resolution of the neutron beam in the new experimental area (EAR2) of the n_TOF facility at CERN, the availability of a sufficient amount of chemically pure Be-7, and a specifically designed experimental setup. Coincidences between the two alpha particles have been…

The Nuclear astrophysics program at n_TOF (CERN)

2017

An important experimental program on Nuclear Astrophysics is being carried out at the n_TOF since several years, in order to address the still open issues in stellar and primordial nucleosynthesis. Several neutron capture reactions relevant to s-process nucleosynthesis have been measured so far, some of which on important branching point radioisotopes. Furthermore, the construction of a second experimental area has recently opened the way to challenging measurements of (n, charged particle) reactions on isotopes of short half-life. The Nuclear Astrophysics program of the n_TOF Collaboration is here described, with emphasis on recent results relevant for stellar nucleosynthesis, stellar neut…

The 33S(n,α)30Si cross section measurement at n TOF-EAR2 (CERN): From 0.01 eV to the resonance region

2017

The 33S(n,α)30Si cross section measurement, using 10B(n,α) as reference, at the n TOF Experimental Area 2 (EAR2) facility at CERN is presented. Data from 0.01 eV to 100 keV are provided and, for the first time, the cross section is measured in the range from 0.01 eV to 10 keV. These data may be used for a future evaluation of the cross section because present evaluations exhibit large discrepancies. The 33S(n,α)30Si reaction is of interest in medical physics because of its possible use as a cooperative target to boron in Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT).

Measurement of the Pu-242(n,gamma) cross section from thermal to 500 keV at the Budapest research reactor and CERN n_TOF-EAR1 facilities

2019

The design and operation of innovative nuclear systems requires a better knowledge of the capture and fission cross sections of the Pu isotopes. For the case of capture on 242Pu, a reduction of the uncertainty in the fast region down to 8-12% is required. Moreover, aiming at improving the evaluation of the fast energy range in terms of average parameters, the OECD NEA High Priority Request List (HPRL) requests high-resolution capture measurements with improved accuracy below 2 keV. The current uncertainties also affect the thermal point, where previous experiments deviate from each other by 20%. A fruitful collaboration betwen JGU Mainz and HZ Dresden-Rossendorf within the EC CHANDA project…

Gamma Ray Spectra from Thermal Neutron Capture on Gadolinium-155 and Natural Gadolinium

2019

Natural gadolinium is widely used for its excellent thermal neutron capture cross section, because of its two major isotopes: $^{\rm 155}$Gd and $^{\rm 157}$Gd. We measured the $\gamma$-ray spectra produced from the thermal neutron capture on targets comprising a natural gadolinium film and enriched $^{\rm 155}$Gd (in Gd$_{2}$O$_{3}$ powder) in the energy range from 0.11 MeV to 8.0 MeV, using the ANNRI germanium spectrometer at MLF, J-PARC. The freshly analysed data of the $^{\rm 155}$Gd(n, $\gamma$) reaction are used to improve our previously developed model (ANNRI-Gd model) for the $^{\rm 157}$Gd(n, $\gamma$) reaction, and its performance confirmed with the independent data from the $^{\r…

Gamma Ray Spectrum from Thermal Neutron Capture on Gadolinium-157

2018

International audience; We have measured the |$\gamma$|-ray energy spectrum from the thermal neutron capture, |${}^{157}$|Gd|$(n,\gamma)$|⁠, on an enriched |$^{157}$|Gd target (Gd|$_{2}$|O|$_{3}$|⁠) in the energy range from 0.11 MeV up to about 8 MeV. The target was placed inside the germanium spectrometer of the ANNRI detector at J-PARC and exposed to a neutron beam from the Japan Spallation Neutron Source (JSNS). Radioactive sources (⁠|$^{60}$|Co, |$^{137}$|Cs, and |$^{152}$|Eu) and the |$^{35}$|Cl(⁠|$n$|⁠,|$\gamma$|⁠) reaction were used to determine the spectrometer‘s detection efficiency for |$\gamma$| rays at energies from 0.3 to 8.5 MeV. Using a Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation of …

Radiative neutron capture on Pu242 in the resonance region at the CERN n_TOF-EAR1 facility

2018

The spent fuel of current nuclear reactors contains fissile plutonium isotopes that can be combined with uranium to make mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. In this way the Pu from spent fuel is used in a new reactor cycle, contributing to the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy. However, an extensive use of MOX fuels, in particular in fast reactors, requires more accurate capture and fission cross sections for some Pu isotopes. In the case of Pu242 there are sizable discrepancies among the existing capture cross-section measurements included in the evaluations (all from the 1970s) resulting in an uncertainty as high as 35% in the fast energy region. Moreover, postirradiation experiments evaluat…

The measurement programme at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN

2016

Neutron-induced reaction cross sections are important for a wide variety of research fields ranging from the study of nuclear level densities, nucleosynthesis to applications of nuclear technology like design, and criticality and safety assessment of existing and future nuclear reactors, radiation dosimetry, medical applications, nuclear waste transmutation, accelerator-driven systems and fuel cycle investigations. Simulations and calculations of nuclear technology applications largely rely on evaluated nuclear data libraries. The evaluations in these libraries are based both on experimental data and theoretical models. CERN’s neutron time-of-flight facility n TOF has produced a considerabl…

Studies of high density baryon matter with high intensity heavy-ion beams at J-PARC

2016

Abstract In J-PARC heavy-ion project, we aim at studies of QCD phase structures and hadron properties in high baryon density close to the neutron star core. We have developed a heavy-ion acceleration scheme with a new linac and a new booster with existing two synchrotrons with the goal beam rate of about 10 11 Hz. We have also designed a large acceptance spectrometer based on a toroidal magnet. We have evaluated the spectrometer performance, and demonstrated reconstructing dielectron and dimuon spectra with full detector simulations. Finally, we designed a hypernuclear spectrometer which can utilize the full intensity ion beams.

Nuclear data activities at the n_TOF facility at CERN

2016

International audience; Nuclear data in general, and neutron-induced reaction cross sections in particular, are important for a wide variety of research fields. They play a key role in the safety and criticality assessment of nuclear technology, not only for existing power reactors but also for radiation dosimetry, medical applications, the transmutation of nuclear waste, accelerator-driven systems, fuel cycle investigations and future reactor systems as in Generation IV. Applications of nuclear data are also related to research fields as the study of nuclear level densities and stellar nucleosynthesis. Simulations and calculations of nuclear technology applications largely rely on evaluate…