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Feasibility, design and sensitivity studies on innovative nuclear reactors that could address the issue of nuclear waste transmutation using fuels enriched in minor actinides, require high accuracy cross section data for a variety of neutron-induced reactions from thermal energies to several tens of MeV. The isotope 241Am (T1/2= 433 years) is present in high-level nuclear waste (HLW), representing about 1.8 % of the actinide mass in spent PWR UOx fuel. Its importance increases with cooling time due to additional production from the β-decay of 241Pu with a half-life of 14.3 years. The production rate of 241 Am in conventional reactors, including its further accumulation through the decay of 241Pu and its destruction through transmutation/incineration are very important parameters for the design of any recycling solution. In the present work, the 241 Am(n,f) reaction cross-section was measured using Micromegas detectors at the Experimental Area 2 of the n_TOF facility at CERN. For the measurement, the 235U(n,f) and 238U(n,f) reference reactions were used for the determination of the neutron flux. In the present work an overview of the experimental setup and the adopted data analysis techniques is given along with preliminary results.
An accurate measurement of the 140Ce(n,γ) energy-dependent cross-section was performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This cross-section is of great importance because it represents a bottleneck for the s-process nucleosynthesis and determines to a large extent the cerium abundance in stars. The measurement was motivated by the significant difference between the cerium abundance measured in globular clusters and the value predicted by theoretical stellar models. This discrepancy can be ascribed to an overestimation of the 140Ce capture cross-section due to a lack of accurate nuclear data. For this measurement, we used a sample of cerium oxide enriched in 140Ce to 99.4%. The experimental apparatus consisted of four deuterated benzene liquid scintillator detectors, which allowed us to overcome the difficulties present in the previous measurements, thanks to their very low neutron sensitivity. The accurate analysis of the p-wave resonances and the calculation of their average parameters are fundamental to improve the evaluation of the 140Ce Maxwellian-averaged cross-section.
Neutron capture on 241Am plays an important role in the nuclear energy production and also provides valuable information for the improvement of nuclear models and the statistical interpretation of the nuclear properties. A new experiment to measure the 241Am(n, γ) cross section in the thermal region and the first few resonances below 10 eV has been carried out at EAR2 of the n_TOF facility at CERN. Three neutron-insensitive C6D6 detectors have been used to measure the neutron-capture gamma cascade as a function of the neutron time of flight, and then deduce the neutron capture yield. Preliminary results will be presented and compared with previously obtained results at the same facility in EAR1. In EAR1 the gamma-ray background at thermal energies was about 90% of the signal while in EAR2 is up to a 25 factor much more favorable signal to noise ratio. We also extended the low energy limit down to subthermal energies. This measurement will allow a comparison with neutron capture measurements conducted at reactors and using a different experimental technique.
The neutron-unbound isotope 13Be has been studied in several experiments using different reactions, different projectile energies, and different experimental setups. There is, however, no real consensus in the interpretation of the data, in particular concerning the structure of the low-lying excited states. Gathering new experimental information, which may reveal the 13Be structure, is a challenge, particularly in light of its bridging role between 12Be, where the N = 8 neutron shell breaks down, and the Borromean halo nucleus 14Be. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of bound excited states in the reaction product 12Be after proton knockout from 14B, by measuring coincidences between 12Be, neutrons, and γ rays originating from de-excitation of states fed by neutron decay of 13Be. The 13Be isotopes were produced in proton knockout from a 400 MeV/nucleon 14B beam impinging on a CH2 target. The 12 Be-n relative-energy spectrum d σ /d Ef n was obtained from coincidences between 12Be(g.s.) and a neutron, and also as threefold coincidences by adding γ rays, from the de-excitation of excited states in 12Be. Neutron decay from the first 5/2+ state in 13Be to the 2+ state in 12Be at 2.11 MeV is confirmed. An energy independence of the proton-knockout mechanism is found from a comparison with data taken with a 35 MeV/nucleon 14B beam. A low-lying p-wave resonance in 13Be(1/2−) is confirmed by comparing proton- and neutron-knockout data from 14B and 14Be.
The quasi-free scattering reactions 11C(p, 2p) and 10,11,12C(p, pn) have been studied in inverse kinematics at beam energies of 300–400 MeV/u at the R3B-LAND setup. The outgoing proton-proton and protonneutron pairs were detected in coincidence with the reaction fragments in kinematically complete measurements. The efficiency to detect these pairs has been obtained from GEANT4 simulations which were tested using the 12C(p, 2p) and 12C(p, pn) reactions. Experimental cross sections and momentum distributions have been obtained and compared to DWIA calculations based on eikonal theory. The new results reported here are combined with previously published cross sections for quasi-free scattering from oxygen and nitrogen isotopes and together they enable a systematic study of the reduction of singleparticle strength compared to predictions of the shell model over a wide neutron-to-proton asymmetry range. The combined reduction factors show a weak or no dependence on isospin asymmetry, in contrast to the strong dependency reported in nucleon-removal reactions induced by nuclear targets at lower energies. However, the reduction factors for (p, 2p) are found to be ’significantly smaller than for (p, pn) reactions for all investigated nuclei.
Quasifree one-proton knockout reactions have been employed in inverse kinematics for a systematic study of the structure of stable and exotic oxygen isotopes at the R3B/LAND setup with incident beam energies in the range of 300–450 MeV/u. The oxygen isotopic chain offers a large variation of separation energies that allows for a quantitative understanding of single-particle strength with changing isospin asymmetry. Quasifree knockout reactions provide a complementary approach to intermediate-energy one-nucleon removal reactions. Inclusive cross sections for quasifree knockout reactions of the type AO(p,2p)A−1N have been determined and compared to calculations based on the eikonal reaction theory. The reduction factors for the single-particle strength with respect to the independent-particle model were obtained and compared to state-of-the-art ab initio predictions. The results do not show any significant dependence on proton-neutron asymmetry.
The evolution of the traditional nuclear magic numbers away from the valley of stability is an active field of research. Experimental efforts focus on providing key spectroscopic information that will shed light into the structure of exotic nuclei and understanding the driving mechanism behind the shell evolution. In this work, we investigate the spin-orbit shell gap towards the neutron dripline. To do so, we employed (p,2p) quasi-free scattering reactions to measure the proton component of the state of 16,18,20C. The experimental findings support the notion of a moderate reduction of the proton spin-orbit splitting, at variance to recent claims for a prevalent magic number towards the neutron dripline.
Since the start of its operation in 2001, based on an idea of Prof. Carlo Rubbia [1], the neutron time of-flight facility of CERN, n_TOF, has become one of the most forefront neutron facilities in the world for wide-energy spectrum neutron cross section measurements. Thanks to the combination of excellent neutron energy resolution and high instantaneous neutron flux available in the two experimental areas, the second of which has been constructed in 2014, n_TOF is providing a wealth of new data on neutron-induced reactions of interest for nuclear astrophysics, advanced nuclear technologies and medical applications. The unique features of the facility will continue to be exploited in the future, to perform challenging new measurements addressing the still open issues and long-standing quests in the field of neutron physics. In this document the main characteristics of the n_TOF facility and their relevance for neutron studies in the different areas of research will be outlined, addressing the possible future contribution of n_TOF in the fields of nuclear astrophysics, nuclear technologies and medical applications. In addition, the future perspectives of the facility will be described including the upgrade of the spallation target, the setup of an imaging installation and the construction of a new irradiation area.
The neutron capture cross section of 154Gd was measured from 1 eV to 300 keV in the experimental area located 185 m from the CERN n_TOF neutron spallation source, using a metallic sample of gadolinium, enriched to 67% in 154Gd. The capture measurement, performed with four C6D6 scintillation detectors, has been complemented by a transmission measurement performed at the GELINA time-of-flight facility (JRC-Geel), thus minimising the uncertainty related to sample composition. An accurate Maxwellian averaged capture cross section (MACS) was deduced over the temperature range of interest for s process nucleosynthesis modelling. We report a value of 880(50) mb for the MACS at kT = 30 keV, significantly lower compared to values available in literature. The new adopted 154Gd(n,γ) cross section reduces the discrepancy between observed and calculated solar s-only isotopic abundances predicted by s-process nucleosynthesis models.