scholarly journals A Method to Obtain a Maxwell–Boltzmann Neutron Spectrum at kT = 30 keV for Nuclear Astrophysics Studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Praena ◽  
P. F. Mastinu ◽  
G. Martín Hernández

AbstractA method to shape the neutron energy spectrum at low-energy accelerators is proposed by modification of the initial proton energy distribution. A first application to the superconductive RFQ of the SPES project at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro is investigated for the production of a Maxwell–Boltzmann neutron spectrum at kT = 30 keV via the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction. Concept, solutions and calculations for a setup consisting of a proton energy shaper and a lithium target are presented. It is found that a power dentisity of 3 kW cm−2 could be sustained by the lithium target and a forward-directed neutron flux higher than 1010 s−1 at the sample position could be obtained. In the framework of the SPES project the construction of a LEgnaro NeutrOn Source (LENOS) for Astrophysics and for validation of integral nuclear data is proposed, suited for activation studies on stable and unstable isotopes.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
N. Chrysanthopoulou ◽  
P. Savva ◽  
M. Varvayanni ◽  
C. Colin ◽  
C. Huot-Marchand ◽  
...  

The safe introduction of Generation IV (Gen IV) reactor concepts into operation will require extensive testing of their components. This must be performed under neutronic conditions representative of those expected to prevail inside the new reactor cores when in operation. In a thermal Material Testing Reactor (MTR) such neutronic conditions can be achieved by tailoring the prevailing neutron spectrum with the utilization of a device containing appropriate materials. In this work various materials are investigated as candidate components of a device that will be required in case that a thermal MTR neutron energy spectrum must be locally transformed, so as to imitate Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR). Many nuclides have been examined with respect to only their neutronic behavior, providing thus a pool of neutronically appropriate materials for consideration in further investigation, such as regarding reactor safety and fabrication issues. The nuclides have been studied using the neutronics code TRIPOLI-4.8 while the reflector of the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) was considered as the hosting environment of the transforming device. The results obtained suggest that elements with important inelastic neutron scattering could be chosen at a first level as being able to modify the prevailing neutron spectrum towards the desired direction. The factors which are important for an effective inelastic scatterer comprise density and inelastic microscopic cross section, as well as the energy ranges where inelastic scattering occurs. All the above factors have been separately examined in order to suggest potential device materials, able to locally produce SFR neutron spectrum imitation in a thermal MTR.


2020 ◽  
Vol 239 ◽  
pp. 17018
Author(s):  
Yonghao Chen ◽  
Guangyuan Luan ◽  
Jie Bao ◽  
Hantao Jing ◽  
Qi An ◽  
...  

The China spallation neutron source (CSNS) was built and started running since 2018. It produces neutrons by impinging 1.6 GeV protons onto a tungsten target with 25 Hz repetition frequency. A beam line exploiting the back-streaming neutrons (Back-n) was built mainly for nuclear data measurement and started commissioning simultaneously with CSNS in 2018. There are two experimental endstations along the Back-n beam line: endstation 1 (#ES1) with a neutron flight path of about 55 m and endstation 2 (#ES2) with about 76 m. The neutron energy spectra of both #ES1 and #ES2 were measured since it is important for feasibility study and analysis. In this paper, the measurement of the neutron energy spectrum of Back-n #ES1 is reported. It is measured by a multi-layer fission chamber using the 235U samples as the neutron converters. The neutron energy spectrum from 0.1 eV to 30 MeV is obtained. The integral neutron flux (from 0.1 eV to 30 MeV) normalized to the proton beam power of 100 kW is 1.55×107 neutrons/cm2/s.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamar Goldzak ◽  
Alexandra R. McIsaac ◽  
Troy Van Voorhis

AbstractColloidal CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) have shown promise in applications ranging from LED displays to medical imaging. Their unique photophysics depend sensitively on the presence or absence of surface defects. Using simulations, we show that CdSe NCs are inherently defective; even for stoichiometric NCs with perfect ligand passivation and no vacancies or defects, we still observe that the low energy spectrum is dominated by dark, surface-associated excitations, which are more numerous in larger NCs. Surface structure analysis shows that the majority of these states involve holes that are localized on two-coordinate Se atoms. As chalcogenide atoms are not passivated by any Lewis base ligand, varying the ligand should not dramatically change the number of dark states, which we confirm by simulating three passivation schemes. Our results have significant implications for understanding CdSe NC photophysics, and suggest that photochemistry and short-range photoinduced charge transfer should be much more facile than previously anticipated.


Author(s):  
Zachary W LaMere ◽  
Darren E Holland ◽  
Whitman T Dailey ◽  
John W McClory

Neutrons from an atmospheric nuclear explosion can be detected by sensors in orbit. Current tools for characterizing the neutron energy spectrum assume a known source and use forward transport to recreate the detector response. In realistic scenarios the true source is unknown, making this an inefficient, iterative approach. In contrast, the adjoint approach directly solves for the source spectrum, enabling source reconstruction. The time–energy fluence at the satellite and adjoint transport equation allow a Monte Carlo method to characterize the neutron source’s energy spectrum directly in a new model: the Space to High-Altitude Region Adjoint (SAHARA) model. A new adjoint source event estimator was developed in SAHARA to find feasible solutions to the neutron transport problem given the constraints of the adjoint environment. This work explores SAHARA’s development and performance for mono-energetic and continuous neutron energy sources. In general, the identified spectra were shifted towards energies approximately 5% lower than the true source spectra, but SAHARA was able to capture the correct spectral shapes. Continuous energy sources, including real-world sources Fat Man and Little Boy, resulted in identifiable spectra that could have been produced by the same distribution as the true sources as demonstrated by two-dimensional (2D) Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-388
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Sevilla ◽  
Andrea Valdés-Hernández ◽  
Alan J. Barrios

We perform a comprehensive analysis of the set of parameters {ri} that provide the energy distribution of pure qutrits that evolve towards a distinguishable state at a finite time τ, when evolving under an arbitrary and time-independent Hamiltonian. The orthogonality condition is exactly solved, revealing a non-trivial interrelation between τ and the energy spectrum and allowing the classification of {ri} into families organized in a 2-simplex, δ2. Furthermore, the states determined by {ri} are likewise analyzed according to their quantum-speed limit. Namely, we construct a map that distinguishes those ris in δ2 correspondent to states whose orthogonality time is limited by the Mandelstam–Tamm bound from those restricted by the Margolus–Levitin one. Our results offer a complete characterization of the physical quantities that become relevant in both the preparation and study of the dynamics of three-level states evolving towards orthogonality.


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