0000000000208160
AUTHOR
J. Heyse
New measurement of the 242Pu(n,γ) cross section at n-TOF-EAR1 for MOX fuels: Preliminary results in the RRR
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…
7Be(n,α) and 7Be(n,p) cross-section measurement for the cosmological lithium problem at the n-TOF facility at CERN
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 Nuclear astrophysics program at n_TOF (CERN)
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…
Characterization and First Test of an i-TED Prototype at CERN n_TOF
International audience; Neutron capture cross section measurements are of fundamental importance for the study of the slow process of neutron capture, so called s-process. This mechanism is responsible for the formation of most elements heavier than iron in the Universe. To this aim, installations and detectors have been developed, as total energy radiation C$_{6}$ D$_{6}$ detectors. However, these detectors can not distinguish between true capture gamma rays from the sample under study and neutron induced gamma rays produced in the surroundings of the setup. To improve this situation, we propose (Domingo Pardo in Nucl Instr Meth Phys Res A 825:78–86, 2016, [1]) the use of the Compton princ…