Approaching the Gamow Window with Stored Ions : Direct Measurement of Xe 124 (p,γ) in the ESR Storage Ring

© 2019 American Physical Society. All rights reserved.We report the first measurement of low-energy proton-capture cross sections of Xe124 in a heavy-ion storage ring. Xe12454+ ions of five different beam energies between 5.5 and 8 AMeV were stored to collide with a windowless hydrogen target. The Cs125 reaction products were directly detected. The interaction energies are located on the high energy tail of the Gamow window for hot, explosive scenarios such as supernovae and x-ray binaries. The results serve as an important test of predicted astrophysical reaction rates in this mass range. Good agreement in the prediction of the astrophysically important proton width at low energy is found, with only a 30% difference between measurement and theory. Larger deviations are found above the neutron emission threshold, where also neutron and γ widths significantly impact the cross sections. The newly established experimental method is a very powerful tool to investigate nuclear reactions on rare ion beams at low center-of-mass energies.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Shell-model studies of the astrophysical rp -process reactions S 34 (p,γ) Cl 35 and Cl 34g,m (p,γ) Ar 35

© 2020 American Physical Society. Background: Dust grains condensed in the outflows of presolar classical novae should have been present in the protosolar nebula. Candidates for such presolar nova grains have been found in primitive meteorites and can in principle be identified by their isotopic ratios, but the ratios predicted by state-of-the-art one-dimensional hydrodynamic models are uncertain due to nuclear-physics uncertainties. Purpose: To theoretically calculate the thermonuclear rates and uncertainties of the S34(p,γ)Cl35 and Cl34g,m(p,γ)Ar35 reactions and investigate their impacts on the predicted S34/S32 isotopic ratio for presolar nova grains. Method: A shell-model approach in a (0+1) ħω model space was used to calculate the properties of resonances in the S34(p,γ)Cl35 and Cl34g,m(p,γ)Ar35 reactions and their thermonuclear rates. Uncertainties were estimated using a Monte Carlo method. The implications of these rates and their uncertainties on sulfur isotopic nova yields were investigated using a postprocessing nucleosynthesis code. The rates for transitions from the ground state of Cl34 as well as from the isomeric first excited state of Cl34 were explicitly calculated. Results: At energies in the resonance region near the proton-emission threshold, many negative-parity states appear. Energies, spectroscopic factors, and proton-decay widths are reported. The resulting thermonuclear rates are compared with previous determinations. Conclusions: The shell-model calculations alone are sufficient to constrain the variation of the S34/S32 ratios to within about 30%. Uncertainties associated with other reactions must also be considered, but in general we find that the S34/S32 ratios are not a robust diagnostic to clearly identify presolar grains made from nova ejecta

Time-of-flight and activation experiments on 147Pm and 171Tm for astrophysics

The neutron capture cross section of several key unstable isotopes acting as branching points in the s-process are crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis studies, but they are very challenging to measure due to the difficult production of sufficient sample material, the high activity of the resulting samples, and the actual (n,γ) measurement, for which high neutron fluxes and effective background rejection capabilities are required. As part of a new program to measure some of these important branching points, radioactive targets of 147Pm and 171Tm have been produced by irradiation of stable isotopes at the ILL high flux reactor. Neutron capture on 146Nd and 170Er at the reactor was followed by beta decay and the resulting matrix was purified via radiochemical separation at PSI. The radioactive targets have been used for time-of-flight measurements at the CERN n-TOF facility using the 19 and 185 m beam lines during 2014 and 2015. The capture cascades were detected using a set of four C6D6 scintillators, allowing to observe the associated neutron capture resonances. The results presented in this work are the first ever determination of the resonance capture cross section of 147Pm and 171Tm. Activation experiments on the same 147Pm and 171Tm targets with a high-intensity 30 keV quasi-Maxwellian flux of neutrons will be performed using the SARAF accelerator and the Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) in order to extract the corresponding Maxwellian Average Cross Section (MACS). The status of these experiments and preliminary results will be presented and discussed as well

New measurement of the 242Pu(n,γ) cross section at n-TOF-EAR1 for MOX fuels : Preliminary results in the RRR

The spent fuel of current nuclear reactors contains fissile plutonium isotopes that can be combined with 238U to make mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. In this way the Pu from spent fuel is used in a new reactor cycle, contributing to the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy. The use of MOX fuels in thermal and fast reactors requires accurate capture and fission cross sections. For the particular case of 242Pu, the previous neutron capture cross section measurements were made in the 70's, providing an uncertainty of about 35% in the keV region. In this context, the Nuclear Energy Agency recommends in its "High Priority Request List" and its report WPEC-26 that the capture cross section of 242Pu should be measured with an accuracy of at least 7-12% in the neutron energy range between 500 eV and 500 keV. This work presents a brief description of the measurement performed at n-TOF-EAR1, the data reduction process and the first ToF capture measurement on this isotope in the last 40 years, providing preliminary individual resonance parameters beyond the current energy limits in the evaluations, as well as a preliminary set of average resonance parameters

The measurement programme at the neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF at CERN

Neutron-induced reaction cross sections are important for a wide variety of research fields ranging from the study of nuclear level densities, nucleosynthesis to applications of nuclear technology like design, and criticality and safety assessment of existing and future nuclear reactors, radiation dosimetry, medical applications, nuclear waste transmutation, accelerator-driven systems and fuel cycle investigations. Simulations and calculations of nuclear technology applications largely rely on evaluated nuclear data libraries. The evaluations in these libraries are based both on experimental data and theoretical models. CERN's neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF has produced a considerable amount of experimental data since it has become fully operational with the start of its scientific measurement programme in 2001. While for a long period a single measurement station (EAR1) located at 185 m from the neutron production target was available, the construction of a second beam line at 20 m (EAR2) in 2014 has substantially increased the measurement capabilities of the facility. An outline of the experimental nuclear data activities at n-TOF will be presented

Neutron activation of 69^{69}Ga and 71^{71}Ga at kBT≈25 keV

Background: About 50% of heavy elements are produced by the slow neutron capture process (s process) in stars. The element gallium is mostly produced during the weak s process in massive stars. Purpose: Our activation at k$_{B}$T≈25 keV is the first experiment in a series of activation and time-of-flight measurements on $^{69}$Ga and $^{71}$Ga relevant for astrophysics. Methods: We activated $^{69}$Ga and $^{71}$Ga with a neutron distribution that corresponds to a quasistellar distribution with k$_{B}$T=25 keV at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), Geel, Belgium. Protons were provided by an electrostatic Van de Graaff accelerator to produce neutrons via the reaction $^{7}$Li(p,n). The produced activity was measured via the γ emission by the decaying product nuclei by high-purity germanium detectors. Results: We provide spectrum-averaged cross sections (SACS) and ratios of the cross sections σ$_{Ga}$/σ$_{Au}$ for the neutron spectrum of the activation. We obtain values of σ$_{69Ga,SACS}$=(186±12) mb and σ$_{71GA,SACS}$ = (112±7) mb, and cross section ratios of σ$_{69Ga}$/σ$_{Au}$=0.29±0.02 and σ$_{71Ga}$/σ$_{Au}$ = 0.17±0.01. Conclusions: Our data disagree with the available evaluated data provided by KADoNiS v0.3, our cross-section ratio is about 20% higher for $^{69}$Ga and about 20% lower for $^{71}$Ga

Monte Carlo simulations of the n TOF lead spallation target with the Geant4 toolkit: A benchmark study

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are an essential tool to determine fundamental features of a neutron beam, such as the neutron flux or the ¿ -ray background, that sometimes can not be measured or at least not in every position or energy range. Until recently, the most widely used MC codes in this field had been MCNPX and FLUKA. However, the Geant4 toolkit has also become a competitive code for the transport of neutrons after the development of the native Geant4 format for neutron data libraries, G4NDL. In this context, we present the Geant4 simulations of the neutron spallation target of the n TOF facility at CERN, done with version 10.1.1 of the toolkit. The first goal was the validation of the intra-nuclear cascade models implemented in the code using, as benchmark, the characteristics of the neutron beam measured at the first experimental area (EAR1), especially the neutron flux and energy distribution, and the time distribution of neutrons of equal kinetic energy, the so-called Resolution Function. The second goal was the development of aMonte Carlo tool aimed to provide useful calculations for both the analysis and planning of the upcoming measurements at the new experimental area (EAR2) of the facility.Postprint (published version

Recent results in nuclear astrophysics at the n-TOF facility at CERN

The neutron time of flight (n-TOF) facility at CERN is a spallation source characterized by a white neutron spectrum. The innovative features of the facility, in the two experimental areas, (20 m and 185 m), allow for an accurate determination of the neutron cross section for radioactive samples or for isotopes with small neutron capture cross section, of interest for Nuclear Astrophysics. The recent results obtained at n-TOF facility are presented

The Nuclear Astrophysics program at n-TOF (CERN)

An important experimental program on Nuclear Astrophysics is being carried out at the n-TOF since several years, in order to address the still open issues in stellar and primordial nucleosynthesis. Several neutron capture reactions relevant to s-process nucleosynthesis have been measured so far, some of which on important branching point radioisotopes. Furthermore, the construction of a second experimental area has recently opened the way to challenging measurements of (n, charged particle) reactions on isotopes of short half-life. The Nuclear Astrophysics program of the n-TOF Collaboration is here described, with emphasis on recent results relevant for stellar nucleosynthesis, stellar neutron sources and primordial nucleosynthesis

Indirect measurements of neutron-induced reaction cross sections at storage rings

Neutron-induced reaction cross sections of unstable nuclei are essential for understanding the synthesis of heavy elements in stars. However, their measurement is very difficult due to the radioactivity of the targets involved. We propose to circumvent this problem by using for the first time the surrogate reaction method in inverse kinematics at heavy-ion storage rings. In this contribution, we describe the developments we have done to perform surrogate-reaction studies at the storage rings of GSI/FAIR. In particular, we present the first results of the proof of principle experiment, which we conducted recently at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR)