Evaluation of neutron cross sections of^(48)Ti based on the Unified-Monte-Carlo-B method

A cross section evaluation of neutron induced reactions on^(48)Ti is undertaken using the Unified Monte Carlo-B(UMC-B)approach.The evaluation concentrates on estimating the covariance and the use of the UMC-B allows avoiding the deficiencies of linear regression brought by the traditional least squares method.Eight main neutron and charged particle emission reactions from n+^(48)Ti in the fast neutron energy region below 20 MeV are studied in this work.The posterior probability density function(PDF)of each neutron cross section is obtained in a UMC-B Bayesian approach by convoluting the model PDFs sampled based on model parameters and the likelihood functions for the experimental data.Nineteen model parameters including level density,pair corrections,optical model and Kalbach matrix element parameter are stochastically sampled with the assumption of normal distributions to estimate the model uncertainty.The Cholesky factorization approach is applied to consider potential parameter correlations.Finally,the posterior covariance matrices are generated using the UMC-B generated weights.The new evaluated results are compared with the CENDL-3.2,ENDF/B-VIII.0,JEFF-3.3,TENDL-2021 and JENDL-5 evaluations and differences are discussed.

Conceptual design of a Cs2LiLaBr6 scintillator‑based neutron total cross section spectrometer on the back‑n beam line at CSNS

To reduce the experimental uncertainty in the 235 U resonance energy region and improve the detection efficiency for neutron total cross section measurements compared with those obtained with the neutron total cross section spectrometer(NTOX), a dedicated lithium-containing scintillation detector has been developed on the Back-n beam line at the China Spallation Neutron Source. The Fast Scintillator-based Neutron Total Cross Section(FAST) spectrometer has been designed based on a Cs2Li La Br6(CLLB) scintillator considering the γ-ray flash and neutron environment on the Back-n beam line. The response of the CLLB scintillator to neutrons and γ-rays was evaluated with different 6Li/7 Li abundance ratios using Geant4. The neutron-γdiscrimination performance of the CLLB has been simulated considering different scintillation parameters, physical designs,and light readout modes. A cubic 6Li-enriched( > 90%) CLLB scintillator, which has a thickness of 4-9 mm and side length of no less than 50 mm to cover the Φ 50 mm neutron beam at the spectrometer position, has been proposed coupling to a side readout SiPM array to construct the FAST spectrometer. The developed simulation techniques for neutron-γ discrimination performance could provide technical support for other neutron-induced reaction measurements on the Back-n beam line.

Measurement of Br(n,γ)cross sections up to stellar s-process temperatures at the CSNS Back‑n

The neutron capture cross sections(n,γ)of bromine were obtained using the time-of-flight technique at the Back-n facility of the China Spallation Neutron Source.Promptγ-rays originating from neutron-induced capture events were detected using four C_(6)D_(6) detectors.The pulse-height weighting technique and double-bunch unfolding method based on Bayesian theory were used in the data analysis.Background deductions,normalization,and corrections were carefully considered to obtain reliable measurement results.The multilevel R-matrix Bayesian code SAMMY was used to extract the resonance parameters in the resolved resonance region(RRR).The average cross sections in the unresolved resonance region(URR)were obtained from 10 to 400 keV.The experimental results were compared with data from several evaluated libraries and previous experi-ments in the RRR and URR.The TALYS code was used to describe the average cross sections in the URR.The astrophysical Maxwell average cross sections(MACSs)of ^(79,81)Br from kT=5 to 100 keV were calculated over a sufficiently wide range of neutron energies.At a thermal energy of kT=30 keV,the MACS value for ^(79)Br 682±68 mb was in good agreement with the KADoNiS v1.0 recommended value.By contrast,the value of 293±29 mb for ^(81)Br was substantially higher than that of the evaluated database and the KADoNiS v1.0 recommended value.

Measurements of the ^(107)Ag neutron capture cross sections with pulse height weighting technique at the CSNS Back-n facility

Silver indium cadmium(Ag–In–Cd) control rod is widely used in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants,and it is continuously consumed in a high neutron flux environment. The mass ratio of ^(107)Ag in the Ag–In–Cd control rod is 41.44%. To accurately calculate the consumption value of the control rod, a reliable neutron reaction cross section of the ^(107)Ag is required. Meanwhile,^(107)Ag is also an important weak r nucleus. Thus, the cross sections for neutron induced interactions with ^(107)Ag are very important both in nuclear energy and nuclear astrophysics. The(n, γ) cross section of ^(107)Ag has been measured in the energy range of 1–60 eV using a back streaming white neutron beam line at China spallation neutron source. The resonance parameters are extracted by an R-matrix code. All the cross section of ^(107)Ag and resonance parameters are given in this paper as datasets. The datasets are openly available at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00113.00010.

Theoretical Analysis of Neutron Double-Differential Cross Sections of n ＋^9Be Reactions

By using the nuclear reaction model for light nuclei, the calculations of the double-differential cross sections of outgoing neutrons from n ＋^9Be reactions are performed. The total outgoing neutrons are only come from the （n, 2n）2a reaction channel. The （n, 2n）2a reaction channel is achieved through six different reaction approach, which are illustrated in this paper. The calculated results agree very well with the measured data at En = 7.1, 8.09, 8.17, 9.09, 9.97 and 10.26 MeV, because the updated level schemes related to the n ＋ ^9Be reactions have been employed in this calculations.

Neutron activation cross section data library

To satisfy the requirements of nuclear reaction cross sections in nuclear engineering applications and nuclear physics studies,the Neutron Activation Cross Section Data Library has been established.818 target nuclei including unstable target or isomeric target nuclei are considered in this library.The induced neutron energy range region is between 10^(-5)eV and 20 MeV.The standard ENDF-6 format is adopted,including general information,reaction cross sections,multiplicities,and so on.The recommended reaction cross sections were obtained using UNF code system and FDRR nuclear model codes or systematic analysis based on available experimental data.

Measurement of the neutron total cross section of^(9)Be at the Back-n white neutron source of CSNS

The neutron total cross section data of^(9)Be are essential in the nuclear structure model research of light nuclei and nuclear power installations.The neutron total cross section of^(9)Be in the 0.3 eV−120 MeV energy region has been measured using time-of-flight and transmission methods with the Neutron Total Cross Sectional Spectrometer(NTOX)based on the multi-cell fast fission chamber at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)-Back-n white neutron source(Back-n).The fission count-neutron energy distributions of ^(235)U and ^(238)U without samples and with Be samples with three thicknesses were measured in the double-bunch operation mode for a beam power of 100 kW.The Bayesian method was used to eliminate the influence of the double-bunch problem on neutron measurement in the energy region above 10 keV.The neutron total cross section of^(9)Be results was consistent with ENDF/B-VIII.0 evaluation library data in the 0.3 eV−20 MeV energy region.In the energy ranges of 0.3 eV to 10 keV and 0.01 to 20 MeV,the deviations between our results and the evaluation results of ENDF/B-VIII.0 were within 2.5%and 15%,respectively.In the resonance energy region,the measured resonance energies in our experiment were 0.63,0.82,and 2.8 MeV,respectively.The results showed that the total cross section uncertainties of three Be samples were within 2.2%in the energy region below 1 MeV.The total cross section uncertainty of 30 mm Be from ^(235)U was the smallest and less than 5%in the energy region of 0.3 eV−120 MeV.The results of this experiment can provide technical support for further data analysis and related nuclear data evaluation.

A possible experimental observable for the determination of neutron skin thickness

The dependence between neutron skin thickness and neutron abrasion cross section （σnabr） for neutron-rich nuclei is investigated within the framework of the statistical abrasion ablation model. Assuming that the density distributions for proton and neutron are of Fermi-type, and adjusting the diffuseness parameter of neutron density distribution in the droplet model, we find out the good linear correlation between the neutron skin thickness and the abrasion cross section σnabr for neutron-rich nuclei. The uncertainty of neutron skin thickness determined from σnabr is very small. It is suggested that σnabr can be used as a new experimental observable to extract the neutron skin thickness for neutronrich nucleus. The scaling behaviours between neutron skin thickness and σnabr, separately, for isotopes of ^26-35Na, ^44-56Ar, ^48-60Ca, ^67-78Ni are also investigated.

Measurement of neutron capture cross section on^(71)Ga at 2.15 and 3.19 MeV and uncertainty propagation and covariance analysis

The cross section values of the^(71)Ga(n,γ)^(72)Ga reaction are measured,which are 9.14±0.81 mb and 5.74±0.50 mb at 2.15 and 3.19 MeV,respectively.The detailed uncertainty propagation and covariance analysis are also given.The^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be reaction was used to generate the neutrons,and the neutron flux was normalized using the^(115)In(n,n′)^(115)In^(m)monitor reaction.The measured cross section data are compared with the data available in the EXFOR database,the data obtained using nuclear reaction model codes EMPIRE-3.2 and TALYS-1.95,and also the evaluated nuclear data from ENDF/B-VIII.0 and JEFF-3.1/A.The comparison shows that our result at 3.19 MeV is in good agreement with those of EMPIRE-3.2 and JEFF-3.1/A.Since there are no other measurements available at3.19 MeV,our data could not be compared with literature data at 3.19 MeV,but they are consistent with the cross section values available at 2.98±0.26 and 3.0±0.1 MeV.Our result at 2.15 MeV is slightly higher than the literature value available in EXFOR,evaluated value,and theoretically predicted result.

Theoretical analysis of double-differential neutron emission cross sections for n+^(56)Fe reactions at incident energies of 7-13 MeV

The double-differential neutron emission cross sections for n＋^56Fe reactions at incident energies of 7 -13 MeV at different angles are calculated by the UNF （abbreviation for unified, 2009 Version） code, which is based on the unified Hauser-Feshbach and exciton model. The results indicate that the higher the incident energies, the better the results, although there are some discrepancies between the calculated results and the measured data for natural iron. These discrepancies are analyzed in detail in this paper. In addition, the calculated results are also compared with the evaluated results of ENDF/B VII.0 and JEFF-3.1.1 near the angle of 90° at incident energies of 8.17 and 11.5 MeV, respectively.

Systematical law of (n, γ) reaction cross sections of even-even nuclei

We have derived a formula for the neutron radiative capture cross section in the framework of a statistical model approach to nuclear reactions. Based on this formula, new systematics are established between the （n, y） reaction cross section and the energy level density of a compound nucleus or a relative neutron excess of an even-even target nucleus for neutron incident energy above the resonance region to MeV. Good agreement with experimental data suggests that this new systematical law is helpful to nalyze the experimental data.

Light fragment and neutron emission in high-energy proton induced spallation reactions

The dynamics of high-energy proton-induced spallation reactions on target nuclides of 56Fe,58Ni,107Ag,112d,184W,181Ta,197Au,and 208Pb are investigated with the quantum molecular dynamics transport model motivated by the China initiative Accelerator Driven System(CiADS)in Huizhou and the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)in Dongguan.The production mechanism of light nuclides and fission fragments is thoroughly analyzed,and the results obtained thereby are compared with available experimental data.The statistical code GEMINI is employed in conjunction with a transport model for describing the decay of primary fragments.For the treatment of cluster emission during the preequilibrium stage,a surface coalescence model is implemented into the model.It is found that the available data in terms of total fragment yields are well reproduced in the combined approach for spallation reactions both on the heavy and light targets.The energetic light nuclides(deuteron,triton,helium isotopes etc)mainly created during the preequilibrium stage are treated within the framework of surface coalescence,whereas their evaporation is described in the conventional manner by the GEMINI code.With this combined approach,a good overall description of light clusters and neutron emission is obtained,and some discrepancies with the experimental data are discussed.Possible production of radioactive isotopes in the spallation reactions is also analyzed,i.e.,the 6.8He energy spectra.

The C_(6)D_(6)detector system on the Back-n beam line of CSNS

Introduction The neutron capture cross sections are very important in the field of nuclear device design and basic physics research.Hydrogen-free liquid scintillator such as C_(6)D_(6)detectors are widely used in the neutron capture cross-sectional measurements for the low neutron sensitivity and fast time response.The Back-n white neutron source at China Spallation Neutron Source is the first spallation white neutron source in China,and it is suitable for neutron capture cross-sectional measurement.Materials and methods A C_(6)D_(6)detector system was built in the Back-n experimental station.The pulse height weighting technique was used to determine the system’s detection efficiency.The response to gamma rays of the C_(6)D_(6)detector was measured,and the energy resolution function was determined.Monte Carlo simulation with Geant4 code was carried out to get the weighting function of this C_(6)D_(6)detector system.Additionally,the systematic uncertainty of the weighting function was also determined.Conclusion According to the experimental and simulation results,this C_(6)D_(6)detector system can be used to measure neutron capture cross section.