| 31. |
- Lantz, Mattias, 1971-, et al.
(author)
-
Gamma spectroscopy methodology for large amounts of environmental samples in Sweden 30 years after the Chernobyl accident
- 2020
-
In: ND 2019. - : EDP Sciences. - 9782759891061
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In a Swedish citizen science project, more than 200 elementary school classes participated in collecting fungi, soil samples, and droppings from deer and wild boar, from all over Sweden. The samples have been sent to a laboratory at Uppsala University where they are being analyzed through gamma spectroscopy with a shielded HPGe detector. The main objective is to scan the samples for 137Cs from the Chernobyl accident and compare the data with measurements from 1986, but uptake of naturally occuring radionuclides like 40K and radon daughters will also be determined. Together with the soil samples, transfer factors will be derived, and correlations for these factors will be sought for different species of fungi and soil types. The potential for correlating the results with different biological processes will also be investigated, in part through the collected animal droppings. This is a work in progress where the present status of the experimental setup and methodology are presented. Issues with the initial approach for corrections are discussed and preliminary results are presented.
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| 32. |
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| 33. |
- Ledoux, X., et al.
(author)
-
The Neutrons for Science Facility at SPIRAL-2
- 2018
-
In: Radiation Protection Dosimetry. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0144-8420 .- 1742-3406. ; 180:1-4, s. 115-119
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The neutrons for science (NFS) facility is a component of SPIRAL-2, the new superconducting linear accelerator built at GANIL in Caen (France). The proton and deuteron beams delivered by the accelerator will allow producing intense neutron fields in the 100 keV-40 MeV energy range. Continuous and quasi-mono-kinetic energy spectra, respectively, will be available at NFS, produced by the interaction of a deuteron beam on a thick Be converter and by the Li-7(p, n) reaction on thin converter. The pulsed neutron beam, with a flux up to two orders of magnitude higher than those of other existing time-of-flight facilities, will open new opportunities of experiments in fundamental research as well as in nuclear data measurements. In addition to the neutron beam, irradiation stations for neutron-, proton- and deuteron-induced reactions will be available for cross-sections measurements and for the irradiation of electronic devices or biological cells. NFS, whose first experiment is foreseen in 2018, will be a very powerful tool for physics, fundamental research as well as applications like the transmutation of nuclear waste, design of future fission and fusion reactors, nuclear medicine or test and development of new detectors.
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| 34. |
- Ledoux, X., et al.
(author)
-
The neutrons for science facility at SPIRAL-2
- 2017
-
In: ND 2016. - Les Ulis : EDP Sciences.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Numerous domains, in fundamental research as well as in applications, require the study of reactions induced by neutrons with energies from few MeV up to few tens of MeV. Reliable measurements also are necessary to improve the evaluated databases used by nuclear transport codes. This energy range covers a large number of topics like transmutation of nuclear waste, design of future fission and fusion reactors, nuclear medicine or test and development of new detectors. A new facility called Neutrons For Science (NFS) is being built for this purpose on the GANIL site at Caen (France). NFS is composed of a pulsed neutron beam for time-of-flight facility as well as irradiation stations for cross-section measurements. Neutrons will be produced by the interaction of deuteron and proton beams, delivered by the SPIRAL-2 linear accelerator, with thick or thin converters made of beryllium or lithium. Continuous and quasi-mono-energetic spectra will be available at NFS up to 40 MeV. In this fast energy region, the neutron flux is expected to be up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than at other existing time-of-flight facilities. In addition, irradiation stations for neutron-, proton- and deuteron-induced reactions will allow performing cross-section measurements by the activation technique. After a description of the facility and its characteristics, the experiments to be performed in the short and medium term will be presented.
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| 35. |
- Lerendegui-Marco, J., et al.
(author)
-
New detection systems for an enhanced sensitivity in key stellar (n,γ) measurements
- 2023
-
In: EPJ Web of Conferences. - : EDP Sciences. - 2100-014X. ; 279
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neutron capture cross-section measurements are fundamental in the study of astrophysical phenomena, such as the slow neutron capture (s-) process of nucleosynthesis operating in red-giant and massive stars. However, neutron capture measurements via the time-of-flight (TOF) technique on key s-process nuclei are often challenging. Difficulties arise from the limited mass (∼mg) available and the high sample-related background in the case of the unstable s-process branching points. Measurements on neutron magic nuclei, that act as s-process bottlenecks, are affected by low (n,γ) cross sections and a dominant neutron scattering background. Overcoming these experimental challenges requires the combination of facilities with high instantaneous flux, such as n_TOFEAR2, with detection systems with an enhanced detection sensitivity and high counting rate capabilities. This contribution reviews some of the latest detector developments in detection systems for (n,γ) measurements at n_TOF, such as i-TED, an innovative detection system which exploits the Compton imaging technique to reduce the dominant neutron scattering background and s-TED, a highly segmented total energy detector intended for high flux facilities. The discussion will be illustrated with results of the first measurement of key the s-process branching-point reaction 79Se(n,γ).
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| 36. |
- Lerendegui-Marco, J., et al.
(author)
-
New perspectives for neutron capture measurements in the upgraded CERN-n_TOF Facility
- 2023
-
In: 15th International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology, ND2022. - : EDP Sciences.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The n_TOF facility has just undergone in 2021 a major upgrade with the installation of its third generation spallation target that has been designed to optimize the performance of the two n_TOF time-of-flight lines. This contribution describes the key features and limitations for capture measurements in the two beam lines prior to the target upgrade and presents first results of (n,gamma) measurements carried out as part of the commissioning of the upgraded facility. In particular, the energy resolution, a key factor for both increasing the signal-to background ratio and obtaining accurate resonance parameters, has been clearly improved for the 20 m long vertical beam-line with the new target design while keeping the remarkably high resolution of the long beamline n_TOF-EAR1. The improvements in the n_TOF neutron beam-lines need to be accompanied by improvements in the instrumentation. A review is given on recent detector R&D projects aimed at tackling the existing challenges and further improving the capabilities of this facility.
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| 37. |
- Mardor, Israel, et al.
(author)
-
Determining spontaneous fission properties by direct mass measurements with the FRS Ion Catcher
- 2020
-
In: ND 2019. - : EDP Sciences. - 9782759891061
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a direct method to measure fission product yield distributions (FPY) and isomeric yield ratios (IYR) for spontaneous fission (SF) fragments. These physical properties are of utmost importance to the understanding of basic nuclear physics, the astrophysical rapid neutron capture process ('r process') of nucle-osynthesis, neutron star composition, and nuclear reactor safety. With this method, fission fragments are produced by spontaneous fission from a source that is mounted in a cryogenic stopping cell (CSC), thermalized and stopped within it, and then extracted and transported to a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass-spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS). We will implement the method at the FRS Ion Catcher (FRS-IC) at GSI (Germany), whose MR-TOF-MS relative mass accuracy (similar to 10(-7)) and resolving power (similar to 600,000 FWHM) are sufficient to separate all isobars and numerous isomers in the fission fragment realm. The system's essential element independence and its fast simultaneous mass measurement provide a new direct way to measure isotopic FPY distributions, which is complementary to existing methods. It will enable nuclide FPY measurements in the high fission peak, which is hardly accessible by current techniques. The extraction time of the CSC, tens of milliseconds, enables a direct measurement of independent fission yields, and a first study of the temporal dependence of FPY distributions in this duration range. The ability to resolve isomers will further enable direct extraction of numerous IYRs while performing the FPY measurements. The method has been recently demonstrated at the FRS-ICr for SF with a 37 kBq Cf-252 fission source, where about 70 different fission fragments have been identified and counted. In the near future, it will be used for systematic studies of SF with a higher-activity Cf-252 source and a Cm-248 source. The method can be implemented also for neutron induced fission at appropriate facilities.
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| 38. |
- Massimi, C., et al.
(author)
-
Neutron-induced cross section measurements
- 2023
-
In: EPJ Web of Conferences. - : EDP Sciences. - 2100-014X. ; 279
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neutron-induced cross sections represent the main nuclear input to models of stellar and Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. While (n,γ) reactions are relevant for the formation of elements heavier than iron, (n,p) and (n,α) reactions can play an important role in specific cases. The time-of-flight method is routinely used at n_TOF to experimentally determine the cross section data. In addition, recent upgrades of the facility will allow the use of activation techniques as well, possibly opening the way to a systematic study of neutron interaction with radioactive isotopes. In the last 20 years n_TOF has provided a large amount of experimental data for Nuclear Astrophysics. Our plan is to carry on challenging measurements and produce nuclear data in the next decades as well.
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| 39. |
- Mastromarco, M., et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of the Gd-160(n, gamma) cross section at n_TOF and its medical implications
- 2023
-
In: 15TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NUCLEAR DATA FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ND2022. - : EDP Sciences.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neutron-capture reactions on gadolinium isotopes play an important role in several fields of physics, in particular in nuclear Astrophysics for the understanding of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements (beyond iron) in stars via the s- and r-processes [1] and in nuclear technology. Another important application of gadolinium is linked to the production of terbium, that offers a set of clinically interesting isotopes for theranostics, characterized by complementary physical decay characteristics. In particular, the low -energy beta(-) emitter terbium-161 is very similar to lutetium-177 in terms of half-life (6.89 d), beta(-) - energy and chemical properties. Being a significant emitter of conversion/Auger electrons, greater therapeutic effect can therefore be expected in comparison to Lu-177 [2, 3]. For this reason, in the last decade, the study of the neutron capture reaction Gd-160(n,,gamma)(161) Gd and the subsequent beta(-) - decay in terbium-161 is getting particular attention. As the nuclear data on the Gd-160 neutron capture reaction are quite scarce and inconsistent, a new measurement of the capture cross section of Gd-160 at the CERN neutron Time -Of-Flight facilty was performed in order to provide high resolution, high -accuracy data on this important reaction, in the energy range from thermal to hundreds of keV. In this contribution, the preliminary results of the n_TOF measurement are presented.
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| 40. |
- Mattera, Andrea, 1985-, et al.
(author)
-
Production of Sn and Sb isotopes in high-energy neutron induced fission of natU
- 2018
-
In: European Physical Journal A. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6001 .- 1434-601X. ; 54
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The first systematic measurement of neutron-induced fission yields has been performed at the upgraded IGISOL-4 facility at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. The fission products from high-energy neutron-induced fission of U-nat were stopped in a gas cell filled with helium buffer gas, and were online separated with a dipole magnet. The isobars, with masses in the range A = 128-133, were transported to a tape-implantation station and identified using gamma-spectroscopy. We report here the relative cumulative isotopic yields of tin (Z = 50) and the relative independent isotopic yields of antimony (Z = 51). Isomeric yield ratios were also obtained for five nuclides. The yields of tin show a staggered behaviour around A = 131, not observed in the ENDF/B-VII. 1 evaluation. The yields of antimony also contradict the trend from the evaluation, but are in agreement with a calculation performed using the GEF model that shows the yield increasing with mass in the range A = 128-133.
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