Calculations of Alpha-Particle Trajectories for Long-Range Alpha Particles Emitted in Spontaneous Fission

1967 ◽  
Vol 156 (4) ◽  
pp. 1305-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Boneh ◽  
Z. Fraenkel ◽  
I. Nebenzahl
Author(s):  
N. Feather

It is generally agreed that the long-range alpha particles of fission are set free before the fragment nuclei have acquired more than a small fraction of their final energy of separation, but whether the alpha particle is liberated before the instant of scission, at that instant, or from one of the fragment nuclei very shortly thereafter, has remained an open question. Each of these views has been seriously advocated. These various hypotheses are examined in relation to recently published information regarding the distribution of mass in low-eneigy ternary fission, and other considerations, and it is suggested that the hypothesis having the strongest claim to attention is that which assumes that the alpha particles originate in the heavy fragments exclusively, being liberated, very shortly after the instant of scission, with probability not much less than unity, from fragment nuclei of low yield and small neutron excess. Conclusions which would follow, if this hypothesis were accepted, are indicated, and possible experimental tests of these conclusions are suggested.


1964 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Z. Malkin ◽  
I. D. Alkhazov ◽  
A. S. Krisvokhatskii ◽  
K. A. Petrzhak ◽  
L. M. Belov

Author(s):  
Roger H. Stuewer

Serious contradictions to the existence of electrons in nuclei impinged in one way or another on the theory of beta decay and became acute when Charles Ellis and William Wooster proved, in an experimental tour de force in 1927, that beta particles are emitted from a radioactive nucleus with a continuous distribution of energies. Bohr concluded that energy is not conserved in the nucleus, an idea that Wolfgang Pauli vigorously opposed. Another puzzle arose in alpha-particle experiments. Walther Bothe and his co-workers used his coincidence method in 1928–30 and concluded that energetic gamma rays are produced when polonium alpha particles bombard beryllium and other light nuclei. That stimulated Frédéric Joliot and Irène Curie to carry out related experiments. These experimental results were thoroughly discussed at a conference that Enrico Fermi organized in Rome in October 1931, whose proceedings included the first publication of Pauli’s neutrino hypothesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Tolman ◽  
Peter J. Catto

Upcoming tokamak experiments fuelled with deuterium and tritium are expected to have large alpha particle populations. Such experiments motivate new attention to the theory of alpha particle confinement and transport. A key topic is the interaction of alpha particles with perturbations to the tokamak fields, including those from ripple and magnetohydrodynamic modes like Alfvén eigenmodes. These perturbations can transport alphas, leading to changed localization of alpha heating, loss of alpha power and damage to device walls. Alpha interaction with these perturbations is often studied with single-particle theory. In contrast, we derive a drift kinetic theory to calculate the alpha heat flux resulting from arbitrary perturbation frequency and periodicity (provided these can be studied drift kinetically). Novel features of the theory include the retention of a large effective collision frequency resulting from the resonant alpha collisional boundary layer, correlated interactions over many poloidal transits and finite orbit effects. Heat fluxes are considered for the example cases of ripple and the toroidal Alfvén eigenmode (TAE). The ripple heat flux is small. The TAE heat flux is significant and scales with the square of the perturbation amplitude, allowing the derivation of constraints on mode amplitude for avoidance of significant alpha depletion. A simple saturation condition suggests that TAEs in one upcoming experiment will not cause significant alpha transport via the mechanisms in this theory. However, saturation above the level suggested by the simple condition, but within numerical and experimental experience, which could be accompanied by the onset of stochasticity, could cause significant transport.


2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Tereza Ďurovcová ◽  
Jana Šafránková ◽  
Zdeněk Němeček

Abstract Less abundant but still dynamically important solar wind components are the proton beam and alpha particles, which usually contribute similarly to the total ion momentum. The main characteristics of alpha particles are determined by the solar wind source region, but the origin of the proton beam and its properties are still not fully explained. We use the plasma data measured in situ on the path from 0.3 to 1 au (Helios 1 and 2) and focus on the proton beam development with an increasing radial distance as well as on the connection between the proton beam and alpha particle properties. We found that the proton beam relative abundance increases with increasing distance from the Sun in the collisionally young streams. Among the mechanisms suggested for beam creation, we have identified the wave–particle interactions with obliquely propagating Alfvén modes being consistent with observations. As the solar wind streams get collisionally older, the proton beam decay gradually dominates and the beam abundance is reduced. In search for responsible mechanisms, we found that the content of alpha particles is correlated with the proton beam abundance, and this effect is more pronounced in the fast solar wind streams during the solar maximum. We suggest that Coulomb collisions are the main agent leading to merging of the proton beam and core. We are also showing that the variations of the proton beam abundance are correlated with a decrease of the alpha particle velocity in order to maintain the total momentum balance in the solar wind frame.


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