Characterization of a Tunable Quasi-Monoenergetic Neutron Beamfrom Deuteron Breakup

A neutron irradiation facility is being developed at the88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for thepurposes of measuring neutron reaction cross sections on radioactivetargets and for radiation effects testing. Applications are of benefit tostockpile stewardship, nuclear astrophysics, next generation advancedfuel reactors, and cosmic radiation biology and electronics in space. Thefacility will supply a tunable, quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam in therange of 10-30 MeV or a white neutron source, produced by deuteronbreakup reactions on thin and thick targets, respectively. Because thedeuteron breakup reaction has not been well studied at intermediateincident deuteron energies, above the target Coulomb barrier and below 56MeV, a detailed characterization was necessary of the neutron spectraproduced by thin targets.Neutron time of flight (TOF) methods have beenused to measure the neutron spectra produced on thin targets of low-Z(titanium) and high-Z (tantalum) materials at incident deuteron energiesof 20 MeV and 29 MeV at 0 deg. Breakup neutrons at both energies fromlow-Z targets appear to peak at roughly half of the available kineticenergy, while neutrons from high-Z interactions peak somewhat lower inenergy, owing to the increased proton energy due to breakup within theCoulomb field. Furthermore, neutron spectra appear narrower for high-Ztargets. These centroids are consistent with recent preliminary protonenergy measurements using silicon telescope detectors conducted at LBNL,though there is a notable discrepancy with spectral widths

Neutron Beams from Deuteron Breakup at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Accelerator-based neutron sources offer many advantages, in particular tunability of the neutron beam in energy and width to match the needs of the application. Using a recently constructed neutron beam line at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at LBNL, tunable high-intensity sources of quasi-monoenergetic and broad spectrum neutrons from deuteron breakup are under development for a variety of applications

Neutron single particle strengths from the (d,p) reaction on F18

The F19 nucleus has been studied extensively. However, there have been no comprehensive experimental studies of F18+n single-particle components in F19, and no measure of neutron vacancies in the F18 ground state, as such experiments require a (radioactive) F18 target or beam. We have used the H2(F18,p)F19 reaction to selectively populate states in F19 that are of F18+n character. The 108.5-MeV radioactive F18+9 beam was provided by the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Proton-recoil coincidence data were taken for both α-decaying and particle-stable final states. Angular distributions and spectroscopic factors were measured for nine proton groups, corresponding to 13 states in F19. The results are compared to shell model calculations

New constraints on the18F(p,α)15O rate in novae from the (d, p) reaction

The degree to which the (p,γ) and (p,α) reactions destroy 18F at temperatures (1-4) × 108 K is important for understanding the synthesis of nuclei in nova explosions and for using the long-lived radionuclide 18F, a target of γ-ray astronomy, as a diagnostic of nova mechanisms. The reactions are dominated by low-lying proton resonances near the I8F+p threshold (Ex = 6.411 MeV in 19Ne). To gain further information about these resonances, we used a radioactive 18F beam from the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility to selectively populate corresponding mirror states in 19F via the inverse 2H(18F,p)19F neutron transfer reaction. Neutron spectroscopic factors were measured for states in 19F in the excitation energy range 0-9 MeV. Widths for corresponding proton resonances in 19Ne were calculated using a Woods-Saxon potential. The results imply significantly lower I8F(p,γ)19Ne and I8F(p,α)15O reaction rates than reported previously, thereby increasing the prospect of observing the 511 keV annihilation radiation associated with the decay of 18F in the ashes ejected from novae

The 21Na(p,gamma)22Mg reaction from Ec.m. = 200 to 1103 keV in novae and x-ray bursts

The long-lived radioactive nuclide 22Na (t1∕2=2.6 yr) is an astronomical observable for understanding the physical processes of oxygen-neon novae. Yields of 22Na in these events are sensitive to the unknown total rate of the 21Na(p,γ)22Mg reaction. Using a high intensity 21Na beam at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility, the strengths of seven resonances in 22Mg , of potential astrophysical importance, have been directly measured at center of mass energies from Ec.m.=200 to 1103 keV . We report the results obtained for these resonances and their respective contributions to the 21Na(p,γ)22Mg rate in novae and x-ray bursts, and their impact on 22Na production in novae