Nucleation of Supercooled Water by Neutrons: Latitude Dependence and Implications for Cloud Modelling

It has recently been shown that incident particles, neutrons, can initiate the freezing in a supercooled water volume. This new finding may have ramifications for the interpretation of both experimental data on the nucleation of laboratory samples of supercooled water and perhaps more importantly on the interpretation of ice nucleation involved in cloud physics. For example, if some fraction of the cloud nucleation previously attributed to dust, soot, or aerosols has been caused by cosmogenic neutrons, fresh consideration is required in the context of climate models. Moreover, as cosmogenic neutrons, most being muon-induced, have much greater flux at high latitudes, estimates of ice nucleates in these regions may be larger than required to accurately model cloud and condensation properties. This discrepancy has been pointed out in IPCC reports. Our paper discusses the connection between the new concept of neutrons nucleating supercooled water and the need for a new source of nucleation in high latitude clouds, ideally causing others to review current data, or to analyse future data with this idea in mind. .

Benchmark experiment on slab^(238)U with D-T neutrons for validation of evaluated nuclear data

A benchmark experiment on^(238)U slab samples was conducted using a deuterium-tritium neutron source at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.The leakage neutron spectra within energy levels of 0.8-16 MeV at 60°and 120°were measured using the time-of-flight method.The samples were prepared as rectangular slabs with a 30 cm square base and thicknesses of 3,6,and 9 cm.The leakage neutron spectra were also calculated using the MCNP-4C program based on the latest evaluated files of^(238)U evaluated neutron data from CENDL-3.2,ENDF/B-Ⅷ.0,JENDL-5.0,and JEFF-3.3.Based on the comparison,the deficiencies and improvements in^(238)U evaluated nuclear data were analyzed.The results showed the following.(1)The calculated results for CENDL-3.2 significantly overestimated the measurements in the energy interval of elastic scattering at 60°and 120°.(2)The calculated results of CENDL-3.2 overestimated the measurements in the energy interval of inelastic scattering at 120°.(3)The calculated results for CENDL-3.2 significantly overestimated the measurements in the 3-8.5 MeV energy interval at 60°and 120°.(4)The calculated results with JENDL-5.0 were generally consistent with the measurement results.

Study on the gamma rays and neutrons energy response optimization of a scintillating fiber detector for EAST with Geant4

A new scintillating fiber detector inside magnetic shielding tube was designed and assembled for use in the next round of fusion experiments in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak to provide D–T neutron yield with time resolution.In this study,Geant4 simulations were used to obtain the pulse height spectra for ideal signals produced when detecting neutrons and gamma rays of multiple energies.One of the main sources of interference was found to be low-energy neutrons below 10–5 MeV,which can generate numerous secondary particles in the detector components,such as the magnetic shielding tube,leading to high-amplitude output signals.To address this issue,a compact thermal neutron shield containing a 1-mm Cd layer outside the magnetic shielding tube and a 5-mm inner Pb layer was specifically designed.Adverse effects on the measurement of fast neutrons and the shielding effect on gamma rays were considered.This can suppress the height of the signals caused by thermal neutrons to a level below the height corresponding to neutrons above 4 MeV because the yield of the latter is used for detector calibration.In addition,the detector has relatively flat sensitivity curves in the fast neutron region,with the intrinsic detection efficiencies(IDEs)of approximately 40%.For gamma rays with energies that are not too high(<8 MeV),the IDEs of the detector are only approximately 20%,whereas for gamma rays below 1 MeV,the response curve cuts off earlier in the low-energy region,which is beneficial for avoiding counting saturation and signal accumulation.

Analysis of displacement damage effects on the charge-coupled device induced by neutrons at Back-n in the China Spallation Neutron Source

Displacement damage effects on the charge-coupled device(CCD)induced by neutrons at the back-streaming white neutron source(Back-n)in the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)are analyzed according to an online irradiation experiment.The hot pixels,random telegraph signal(RTS),mean dark signal,dark current and dark signal non-uniformity(DSNU)induced by Back-n are presented.The dark current is calculated according to the mean dark signal at various integration times.The single-particle displacement damage and transient response are also observed based on the online measurement data.The trends of hot pixels,mean dark signal,DSNU and RTS degradation are related to the integration time and irradiation fluence.The mean dark signal,dark current and DSNU2 are nearly linear with neutron irradiation fluence when nearly all the pixels do not reach saturation.In addition,the mechanisms of the displacement damage effects on the CCD are demonstrated by combining the experimental results and technology computer-aided design(TCAD)simulation.Radiation-induced traps in the space charge region of the CCD will act as generation/recombination centers of electron-hole pairs,leading to an increase in the dark signal.

Measurement and simulation of the leakage neutron spectra from Fe spheres bombarded with 14 MeV neutrons

Iron is commonly used as a structural and shielding material in nuclear devices. The accuracy of its nuclear data is critical for the design of nuclear devices. The evaluation data of ^(56)Fe isotopes in the latest version of the CENDL-3.2 library from China was significantly updated. This new data must be tested before it can be used. To test the reliability of this data and assess the shielding effect, a shielding benchmark experiment was conducted with natural Fe spherical samples using a pulsed deuterium–tritium neutron source at the China Institute of Atomic Energy(CIAE). The leakage neutron spectra from the natural spherical iron samples with different thicknesses(4.5, 7.5, and 12 cm) were measured between 0.8 and 16 MeV after interacting with 14 MeV neutrons using the time-of-flight method. The simulation results were obtained by Monte Carlo simulations by employing the Fe data from the CENDL-3.2, ENDF/B-VIII.0, and JEDNL-5.0 libraries. The measured and simulated leakage neutron spectra and penetration rates were compared, demonstrating that the CENDL-3.2 library performs sufficiently overall. The simulation results of the other two libraries were underestimated for scattering at the continuum energy level.

Structure of the Quarks and a New Model of Protons and Neutrons: Answer to Some Open Questions

The described structural model tries to answer some open questions such as: Why do quarks not exist in the open state? Where are the antiparticles from the Big Bang?

Simulation of the Traweling Wave Burning Regime on Epithermal Neutrons

New results of two computer experiments on modeling of superthermal neutron-nuclear combustion of natural uranium for two different flux densities of external neutron source and duration of half a year each are presented. The simulation results demonstrate the dependence of the autowave combustion modes on the parameters of the external source.

Analysis of displacement damage effects on bipolar transistors irradiated by spallation neutrons

Displacement damage induced by neutron irradiation in China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS) is studied on bipolar transistors with lateral PNP, substrate PNP, and vertical NPN configurations, respectively. Comparison of the effects on different type transistors is conducted based on displacement damage factor, and the differences are analyzed through minority carrier lifetime calculation and structure analysis. The influence of CSNS neutrons irradiation on the lateral PNP transistors is analyzed by the gate-controlled method, including the oxide charge accumulation, surface recombine velocity,and minority carrier lifetime. The results indicate that the total ionizing dose in CSNS neutron radiation environment is negligible in this study. The displacement damage factors based on 1-MeV equivalent neutron flux of different transistors are consistent between Xi’an pulse reactor(XAPR) and CSNS.

NONLINEAR SEMIGROUP APPROACH TOTRANSPORT EQUATIONS WITH DELAYED NEUTRONS

This paper deal with a nonlinear transport equation with delayed neutron andgeneral boundary conditions. We establish, via the nonlinear semigroups approach, the exis-tence and uniqueness of the mild solution, weak solution, strong solution and local solutionon LP-spaces （1 ≤ p 〈 ＋∞）. Local and non local evolution problems are discussed.

Neutrons in a nanosecond low-pressure discharge in deuterium

Stable neutron generation with a yield of ~1.2×10^(4) neutrons per pulse was obtained during d(d,n)^(3)He reaction initiated by the high-voltage nanosecond discharge in a gap with a potential tungsten cylinder(anode)and a grounded deuterated zirconium plate(cathode)filled with deuterium at a pressure of ~10^(2) Pa.Estimated duration of the neutron pulse was ~1.5 ns.Less intensive neutron emission was registered without deuterated plate.Splashing of material of the tungsten electrode was observed during the high-voltage nanosecond discharge in the deuterium,hydrogen,helium and argon at pressures of 10^(2)-10^(4) Pa.

THE LATE EFFECTS ON BONE MARROWS IN MICE AFTER TOTAL BODY IRRADIATION BY P(35) BE FAST NEUTRONS AND γ RAYS

Purpose: To understand the late effects on bonemarrow after widefield or total body irrdiation withvarious types of radiation.Materials and Methods: Total body irradiationwith single dose of P(35) Be fast Neutrons and γ raysrespectively have been used in this study. Kunming strainmice were irradiated by fast neutrons produced bybombardment of beryllium target with 35MeV protonsand the dose rate was 0.12 to 0.14 Gy/min. Nine doselevels were used in fast neutrons irradiation from 0.20 to3.50Gy. The dose rate of 60Co γ rays was 0.60Gy/min andirradiation was in the range of 0.25 to 9.00Gy. Sixteendose points were studied. All animals without anesthesiawere irradiated whole body with single doses by fastneutrons and γ rays respectively, One group withoutirradiation was regarded as control group. 90 days afterirradiation all animals were sacrificed. The nucleatedcells of bone marrow and the peripheral blood cellsincluding WBC and lymphocytes were counted.Results: our study shows that the number ofnucleated cells of bone marrow in both fast neutrons andγ ray groups decreased with increase of the doses. Thereare significant differences between irradiated groups andzero line (control group) and the slopes are -1.41 ±0.55(p=0.038) and -0.98 ± 0. 24(P= 0.0015) for fast neutronsand γ rays respectively. There is no significant differencebetween the two kinds of radiation (p>0.05). The lateeffects on peripheral blood cells (WBC and lymphocytes)in mice after irradiation with single doses of neutrons andγ rays were signincantly lower than unirradiated group(P< 0.05). However, the dependence of the values ofperipheral blood cells on doses is not found and there areno significant differences between neutrons and γ raysgroups.Conclusions: Total body irradiation with neutronsor γ rays can suppress marrow in mice in the long-term,and is more obvious with increase of doses. There is nosignificant difference between neutrons and γ rays for thelate effects studied.

Radiation Effect of Neutrons in a Reactor on Polyurethane

The radiation effect of neutrons in a reactor on polyurethane was studied.The gases produced by irradiated samples were analyzed by gas chromatography,and the dynamic mechanical and compression properties of the samples were also studied.The positron annihilation lifetime of irradiated samples was measured at room temperature in vacuum.The experimental results indicate that gas chromatography is a powerful tool to quantitatively analyze the gas products from neutron-irradiated polyurethane and characterizes the chemical changes in the sample.And the changes in microstructure determined from the PAL correlate well with the measurements of the mechanical properties by dynamic mechanical analysis（DMA）.

Regulating the Nuclear Reactor through Changes of the Fraction of Delayed Neutrons: Theoretical Probabilities

In recent years а significant number of both theoretical and experimental works devoted to the influence of external electromagnetic fields and ionization on the probability of beta decays have been published. The present work investigates the feasibility of using this physical effect as the main mechanism for controlling the reactor. In this paper a system of equations is written and studied that allows one to describe the work of a nuclear reactor in the case where the probability of beta decay and, therefore, the fraction of delayed neu-trons is a function of time. It is shown that in the case of a constant fraction of delayed neutrons, the pro-posed system of equations is identical to the known system. As can be seen from analysis of a solution of the new system of equations for the proposed method of reactor control, acceleration by instantaneous neutrons is impossible even theoretically.

Spallation Yield of Neutrons Produced in Thick Lead Target by 400 MeV/u Carbon Ions

Measurement of the neutron yield is performed at a primary energy of 400 MeV/u carbons for the Pb target.Water-bath activation-foil method is used in a moderation measurement with Au foils to detect the moderated neutrons. The neutron yield is determined to be 18.4±2.1 per carbon by integrating the neutron flux over the entire water volume. The corresponding simulation values are performed by Geant4 code with three models to compare with the experimental results. The comparison shows that the calculated result with the INCL model is in good agreement with the experimental data.

THE EARLY RELATIVE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF SINGLE DOSE OF FAST NEUTRONS（35MeV_（p→Be）） FOR BONE MARROW IN MICE

The early RBE of the bone marrow in mice after studied irradiation with fast neutrons(35 MeVp→Be) was studied.60Co-γ ray was used for referent beams.Using the dos.making 50% loss of the nucleated cells of bone marrow in mice relative to control group mice to calculated the RBE value which was 2.13±0.18.Meanwhile,the relationship of the RBE values and the dose of neutrons was noted.On log-log plot the RBE values decrease with increasing dose of fast neutrons and it is consistent with a slope of -0.39± 0.10.The α/β ratios were estimated from linear-quadratic model of cell survival,they are 14.4±1.30 Gy for fast neutrons and 0.83±0.10 Gy for γ-ray,respectively.

Benchmarking of JEFF-3.2, FENDL-3.0 and TENDL-2014 evaluated data for tungsten with 14.8 MeV neutrons

Integral experiments on tungsten slab samples were carried out on the D-T neutron source facility at China Institute of Atomic Energy. Leakage neutron spectra from the irradiated tungsten target were measured by the time-of-flight technique. Accuracy of the nuclear data for tungsten was examined by comparing the measured neutron spectra with the leakage neutron spectra simulated using the MCNP-4C code with evaluated nuclear data of the JEFF-3.2, FENDL-3.0 and TENDL-2014 libraries. The results show that the calculations with JEFF-3.2 agree well with the measurements in the whole energy range and all angles, whereas the spectra calculated with FENDL-3.0 and TENDL-2014 have some discrepancies with the experimental data.

Studies on unfolding energy spectra of neutrons using maximumlikelihood expectation–maximization method

Energy spectra of neutrons are important for identification of unknown neutron sources and for determination of the equivalent dose. Although standard energy spectra of neutrons are available in some situations, e.g., for some radiotherapy treatment machines, they are unknown in other cases, e.g., for photoneutrons created in radiotherapy rooms and neutrons generated in nuclear reactors. In situations where neutron energy spectra need to be determined, unfolding the required neutron energy spectra using the Bonner sphere spectrometer (BSS) and nested neutron spectrometer (NNS) has been found promising. However, without any prior knowledge on the spectra, the unfolding process has remained a tedious task. In this work, a standalone numerical tool named ‘‘NRUunfold’’ was developed which could satisfactorily unfold neutron spectra for BSS or NNS, or any other systems using similar detection methodology. A generic and versatile algorithm based on maximum-likelihood expectation– maximization method was developed and benchmarked against the widely used STAY’SL algorithm which was based on the least squares method. The present method could output decent results in the absence of precisely calculated initial guess, although it was also remarked that employment of exceptionally bizarre initial spectra could lead to some unreasonable output spectra. The neutron count rates computed using the manufacturer’s response functions were used for sensitivity studies. The present NRUunfold code could be useful for neutron energy spectrum unfolding for BSS or NNS applications in the absence of a precisely calculated initial guess.

Shielding effectiveness of boron-containing ores in Liaoning province of China against gamma rays and thermal neutrons

In this study, the mass attenuation coefficient of boron-containing ores in the Liaoning province of China was calculated using Win XCOM software to investigate the shielding effectiveness of these ores against gamma rays. The mass attenuation coefficients were also calculated using MCNP-4 B code and compared with Win XCOM results; consequently, a good consistency between the results of Win XCOM and MCNP-4 B was observed. Furthermore, the G-P fitting method was used to evaluate the values of exposure buildup factor(EBF) in the energy range of 0.015–15 Me V up to 40 mean free paths. Among the selected ores, boron-bearing iron concentrate ore(M3)was determined to be the best gamma ray shielding ore owing to its higher values of mass attenuation coefficient and equivalent atomic number and lower value of EBF.Moreover, American Evaluated Nuclear Data File(ENDF/B-VII) was used to analyze the shielding effectivenessagainst thermal neutrons. It was determined that Szaibelyite(M2) is the best thermal neutron shielding material.This study would be useful for demonstrating the potential of boron-containing ores for applications in the field of nuclear engineering and technology.

Cross-section measurement of(n,2n) reactions for Nd isotopes induced by 14 MeV neutrons

Cross-sections of the(n,2n) reactions for neodymium(Nd) isotopes induced by 14 MeV neutrons were measured in this work by using the activation and relative methods. The measured cross-sections of the ^(150)Nd(n,2n)^(149)Nd,^(148)Nd(n,2n)^(147)Nd, and ^(142)Nd(n,2 n)^(141)Nd reactions were 1854 ± 81, 1789 ± 119, and 1559 ± 98 mb, respectively, at a neutron energy of 14.2 ± 0.2 MeV,and 1485 ± 74, 1726 ± 85, and 1670 ± 119 mb, respectively, at 14.9 ± 0.2 MeV. The results were compared with the experimental values from the reported literature, with the evaluated data from the ENDF/B-VII.1, CENDL-3.1, and JENDL-4.0 libraries, and with the curves calculated by the Talys-1.8 code.

Time Dependent DD Neutrons Measurement Using a Single Crystal Chemical Vapor Deposition Diamond Detector on EAST

a single crystal chemical vapor deposition （scCVD） diamond detector has been successfully employed for neutron measurements in the EAST （Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak） plasmas. The seCVD diamond detector coated with a 5 μm 6LiF （95% 6Li enriched） layer was placed inside a polyethylene moderator to enhance the detection efficiency. The time-dependent neutron emission from deuteron plasmas during neutral beam injection （NBI） heating was obtained. The measured results are compared with that of fission chamber detectors, which always act as standard neutron flux monitors. The scCVD diamond detector exhibits good reliability, stability and the capability to withstand harsh radiation environments despite its low detection efficiency due to the small active volume.