New quantification of symmetry energy from neutron skin thicknesses of^(48)Ca and^(208)Pb

Precise knowledge of the nuclear symmetry energy can be tentatively calibrated using multimessenger constraints.The neutron skin thickness of a heavy nucleus is one of the most sensitive indicators for probing the isovector components of effective interactions in asymmetric nuclear matter.Recent studies have suggested that the experimental data from the CREX and PREX2 collaborations are not mutually compatible with existing nuclear models.In this study,we review the quantification of the slope parameter of the symmetry energy L from the neutron skin thicknesses of^(48)Ca and^(208)Pb.Skyrme energy density functionals classified by various isoscalar incompressibility coefficients K were employed to evaluate the bulk properties of finite nuclei.The calculated results suggest that the slope parameter L deduced from^(208)Pb is sensitive to the compression modulus of symmetric nuclear matter,but not that from^(48)Ca.The effective parameter sets classified by K=220 MeV can provide an almost overlapping range of L from^(48)Ca and^(208)Pb.

Study on the optimal incident proton energy of ^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy

Boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is recognized as a precise binary targeted radiotherapy technique that effectively eliminates tumors through the^(10)B(n,α)^(7)Li nuclear reaction.Among various neutron sources,accelerator-based sources have emerged as particularly promising for BNCT applications.The^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be reaction is highly regarded as a potential neutron source for BNCT,owing to its low threshold energy for the reaction,significant neutron yield,appropriate average neutron energy,and additional benefits.This study utilized Monte Carlo simulations to model the physical interactions within a lithium target subjected to proton bombardment,including neutron moderation by an MgF_(2)moderator and subsequent BNCT dose analysis using a Snyder head phantom.The study focused on calculating the yields of epithermal neutrons for various incident proton energies,finding an optimal energy at 2.7 MeV.Furthermore,the Snyder head phantom was employed in dose simulations to validate the effectiveness of this specific incident energy when utilizing a^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be neutron source for BNCT purposes.

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.

A Fusion Neutron Source Driven Sub-Critical Nuclear Energy System: A Way for Early Application of Fusion Technology

This paper proposes a sub-critical nuclear energy system driven by fusion neutron source, FDS, which can be used to transmute long-lived radioactive wastes and to produce fissile nuclear fuel as a way for early application of fusion technology. The necessity and feasibility to develop that system in China are illustrated on the basis of prediction of the demand of energy source in the first half of the 21th century, the status of current fission energy supply and the progress in fusion technology in the world. The characteristics of fusion neutron driver and the potential for transmutation of long-lived nuclear wastes and breeding of fissile nuclear fuel in a blanket are analyzed. A scenario of development steps is proposed.

Study on comparison between absolute and relative input energy spectra and effects of ductility factor

Based on 266 strong ground motion records, an attenuation relationship was developed for both absolute and relative input energy spectra. The comparison of the two kinds of input energy spectra constructed from the attenuation relationship was made in this paper. The results show that there is little difference between the absolute input energy spectra and relative input energy spectra at the periods of 0.5-1.0 s for elastic systems and at the period of 0.5 s for inelastic systems. The absolute input energy spectra are much larger than relative input energy spectra in very short period range but some less than relative input energy spectra in long period range. It is also found that the ductility factor has a significant effect on both absolute and relative input energy spectra. The absolute input energy spectra increase with the increasing of ductility factor in the period range of less than 0.3 s but decrease in the period range of larger than 0.3 s. The absolute input energy spectra for different ductility factor are almost equivalent at the period about 0.3 s, but for relative input energy spectra, the period is about 0.5 s. The effect of ductility on the relative input energy spectra in the short period range is much larger than that on the absolute input energy spectra, especially on the softer site class.

Influence of the Pseudogap on the Inelastic Neutron Scattering Spectra of the Underdoped Lanthanum Cuprate

The influence of pseudogap on the inelastic neutron scattering spectra of the underdoped lanthanum cuprate is studied on the basis of the model which incorporates both the superconducting state and pseudogap state. It is found that the striking effects of the influence of the pseudogap on the incommensurability of the spin excitation spectrum are that in the superconducting state the pseudogap makes the intensity of the incommensurate peak increase, in the normal state the pseudogap not only makes the intensity of the incommensurate peak increase, but also sharpens the incommensurate peak and increases incommensurability.

Production of high-energy neutron beam from deuteron breakup

The deuteron breakup on heavy targets has been investigated in the framework of an improved quantum molecular dynamics model,focusing on the production of neutrons near zero degrees.The experimental differential cross sections of neutron production in the 102 MeV d+C reactions were reproduced by simulations.Based on the consistency between the model prediction and experiment,the feasibility of producing a neutron beam through the breakup of deuteron on a carbon target was demonstrated.Because of the nucleon Fermi motion inside the deuteron,the energy spectrum of the inclusive neutron near 0°in the laboratory exhibits considerable energy broadening in the main peak,whereas the long tail on the low-energy side is suppressed.By coincidentally measuring the accompanying deuteron breakup proton,the energy of the neutron can be tagged with an intrinsic uncertainty of approximately 5%(1σ).The tagging efficiency of the accompanying proton on the forward-emitted neutron can reach 90%,which ensures that the differential cross section in the(d,np)channel remains two orders higher than that in(p,n)after considering the measurement of accompanying protons.This enables the application of a well-defined energy neutron beam in an event-by-event scheme.

Measurement of Secondary Electron Energy Spectra of Polymethyl Methacrylate

We report on a novel and convenient method of measuring secondary electron spectra for insulators in a secondary electron yield measurement system with a planar grid analyzer configuration and a metal mesh probe. In this measurement, the planar grid is negatively biased to force some emitted secondary electrons to return to the sample surface and to neutralize charges accumulated on the sample during the previous beam irradiation. The surface potential of the sample is then measured by use of a metal mesh probe. The grid bias for neutralization corresponding to the zero surface potential is determined based on the linear relationship between the surface potential and the grid bias. Once the surface potential equals zero, the secondary electron spectra of polymethyl methacrylate（PMMA） are studied experimentally by measuring the -curve and then fitting it to Everhart＇s formula. The measurement results show that the peak energy and the full width at half maximum of the spectra are 4.26 eV and 14.06 eV, respectively.

Numerical simulation of high-energy neutron radiation effect of scintillation fiber

Due to their low cost,flexibility,and convenience for long distance data transfer,plastic scintillation fibers (PSF) have been increasingly used in building detectors or sensors for detecting various radiations and imaging. In this paper,GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation tool was used to obtain some radiation effects of PSF under high-energy neutron irradiation. BCF-20,a plastic fiber material,produced by Saint-Gobain,was used in the simulation. The fiber consists of a core scintillating material of polystyrene and an acrylic outer cladding. Incident neutrons produce energy deposition in fiber through neutron induced recoil proton events. The relationships between energy deposition efficiency and fiber length,fiber radius and incident neutron energy are presented. The variation with those parameters and parameter selection are also analyzed.

Simultaneous Measurements of Rainfall Intensity, Low Energy Neutrons and Gamma Radiation in Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP, Brazil

The article aims to study the possible correlation between the presence and intensity of rainfall X- and T-radiation and low energy neutrons at one specific location in S[io Jos6 dos Campos, SP, Brazil. Monitoring of these parameters was carried out from end February to half of June 2013 just in Physics Department of ITA （Technological Institute of Aeronautics）. By correlating the data of measurements of intensity of X and ）,-radiations with the rainfall it has been found that this meteorological parameter had a significant influence on the background of these radiation profile. A possible reason for this fact is associated with the presence of radon gas in the environment that is dragged to the surface during the occurrences of local rainfall. In relation neutrons, it was possible to note that the rainfall has small influence on this parameter measures.

Temperature and symmetry energy of neutron-rich fragments in the 1A GeV^(124,136)Xe+Pb reactions

In this work we study the symmetry-energy coefficient of neutron-rich nuclei,and the temperature dependence of nuclear symmetry energy at low temperatures.An isobaric method is used to extract the symmetry-energy coefficients of neutron-rich nucleus(asym) at zero temperature(T) and asym/T at nonzero temperature in the measured 1A GeV124,136Xe+Pb reactions.T of fragment is obtained from the ratio of its asym to asym/T.The results show that,for fragment with the same neutron-excess(I=N Z),the heavier the fragment is,the higher T it has,and T tends to saturate around 1 MeV for the large mass fragments.It is also shown that the more neutron-rich the isobar is,the higher temperature it has.The T2dependence of symmetry energy of finite nucleus at low temperatures is verified by the extracted results.

Scaling of energy spectra in weakly compressible turbulence

We find an asymptotic expression for the characteristic timescales of decorrelation processes in weakly compressible and isothermal turbulence. This result is used in the Eddy-Damped Quasi-Normal Markovian equation to derive the scalings of compressible energy spectra: (1) if the acoustic waves are dominant, the compressible energy spectra exhibit \(-7/3\) scaling; (2) if local eddy straining is dominant, the compressible energy spectra are scaled as \(-3\). Meanwhile, the energy spectra of incompressible components display the same scaling of \(-5/3\) as those in incompressible turbulence. The direct numerical simulations of weakly compressible turbulence are used to examine the scaling.

Effects of the symmetry energy slope on the axial oscillations of neutron stars

The impact of symmetry energy slope L on the axial w-mode oscillations is explored, where the range of the con- strained slope L of symmetry energy at saturation density is adopted from 25 MeV to 115 MeV while keeping the equation of state （EOS） of symmetric nuclear matter fixed. Based on the range of the symmetry energy slope, a constraint on the frequency and damping time of the wi-mode of the neutron star is given. It is found that there is a perfect linear relation between the frequency and the stellar mass for a fixed slope L, and the softer symmetry energy corresponds to a higher frequency. Moreover, it is confirmed that both the frequencies and damping times have a perfect universal scaling behavior for the EOSs with different symmetry energy slopes at saturation density.

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.

Constraints on the kinetic energy of type-Ic supernova explosion from young PSR J1906+0746 in a double neutron star candidate

So far among the nineteen pairs of detected double neutron star(DNS) systems, it is a usual fact that the first-born recycled pulsar is detected, however the youngest DNS system PSR J1906+0746, with the characteristic age of 113 kyr, is one of the three detected DNS as a non-recycled and second-born NS, which is believed to be formed by an electron capture or a low energy ultra-stripped iron core-collapse supernova(SN) explosion. The SN remnant around PSR J1906+0746 is too dim to be observed by optical telescopes, then its x-ray flux limit has been given by Chandra. A reference pulsar PSR J1509-5850 with the young characteristic age of 154 kyr was chosen as an object of comparison, which has an SN remnant observed by Chandra and is believed to be formed by iron core SN explosion. We impose a restriction on the maximum kinetic energy of electron-capture(EC) SN explosion that induces the formation of PSR J1906+0746. The estimated result is(4–8)×10^(50) erg(1 erg= 10-7 J), which is consistent with that of the published simulations of the EC process, i.e., a lower value than that of the conventional iron core SN explosion of(1–2)×10^(51) erg. As suggested, EC process for NS formation is pertained to the subluminous type Ic SN by the helium star with ONeMg core, thus for the first time we derived the kinetic energy of EC SN explosion of DNS, which may be reconciled with the recent observation of type Ic SN 2014 ft with kinetic energy of 2 × 10^(50) erg.

Effect of Superstrong Magnetic Fields on Nuclear Energy Generation Rate in the Crust of Neutron Stars

This paper shows that superstrong magnetic fields （such as those of magnetars） can increase the energy generation rate many times in the crust of neutron stars. This result undoubtedly not only influences the cooling of neutron stars and the X-ray luminosity observed of neutron stars but also the evolution of neutron stars.

Real non-Hermitian energy spectra without any symmetry

Non-Hermitian models with real eigenenergies are highly desirable for their stability.Yet,most of the currently known ones are constrained by symmetries such as PT-symmetry,which is incompatible with realizing some of the most exotic non-Hermitian phenomena.In this work,we investigate how the non-Hermitian skin effect provides an alternative route towards enforcing real spectra and system stability.We showcase,for different classes of energy dispersions,various ansatz models that possess large parameter space regions with real spectra,despite not having any obvious symmetry.These minimal local models can be quickly implemented in non-reciprocal experimental setups such as electrical circuits with operational amplifiers.

Impact of Crust Matter on Properties of Neutron Star with Supersoft Symmetry Energy

By employing three typical equations of states （EOSs） of the crust matter, the effect of the crust on the structure and properties are investigated, where the core matter is described by the MDIxl model and the non-Newtonian gravity （described by the Yukawa contribution） is considered. It is shown that the EOSs of the crust matter have a notable effect on the mass-radius relation and the moment of inertia.

Three-Dimensional Ab Initio Potential Energy Surface and Predicted Spectra for the CH_(4)-Ne Complex

We present a new three-dimensional potential energy surface(PES)for CH_(4)-Ne complex.The electronic structure computations were carried out using the coupled-cluster method with singles,doubles,and perturbative triples[CCSD(T)],the augmented correlationconsistent aug-cc-pVXZ(X=T,Q)basis sets were employed with bond functions placed at the mid-point on the intermolecular axis,and the energies obtained were then extrapolated to the complete basis set limit.Analytic intermolecular PES is obtained by least-squares fitting to the Morse/Long-Range(MLR)potential function form.These fits to 664 points have root-mean-square deviations of 0.042 cm^(−1).The bound rovibrational levels are calculated for the first time,and the predicted infrared spectra are in good agreement with the experimental values.The microwave spectra for CH_(4)-Ne dimer have also been predicted for the first time.The analytic PES can be used for modeling the dynamical behavior in CH_(4)-(Ne)N clusters,and it will be useful for future studies of the collision-induced-absorption for the CH_(4)-Ne dimer.

Unfolding the measured neutron spectra in the irradiation chamber of the UZrH reactor using iterative method

In the procedure of neutron fluence measurement in the whole energy range (10-4 eV^18 MeV), in the irra- diation chamber of a UZrH reactor, the neutron energy spectra are unfolded using the method of minimizing directed divergence and SAND-II, which are used broadly at home and abroad. These methods belong to the iterative methods. In this article, the procedure of the spectra unfolding using the two methods is described in detail. The neutron spec- trum distribution unfolded by the two methods agree well with each other. In the end, the major differences of the two iterative methods are compared with each other, and the main factors affecting the accuracy of the spectra unfolding with the iterative method are discussed.