Neutron capture measurement at the n TOF facility of the 204Tl and 205Tl s-process branching points

Neutron capture cross sections are one of the fundamental nuclear data in the study of the s (slow) process of nucleosynthesis. More interestingly, the competition between the capture and the decay rates in some unstable nuclei determines the local isotopic abundance pattern. Since decay rates are often sensible to temperature and electron density, the study of the nuclear properties of these nuclei can provide valuable constraints to the physical magnitudes of the nucleosynthesis stellar environment. Here we report on the capture cross section measurement of two thallium isotopes, 204Tl and 205Tl performed by the time-of-flight technique at the n TOF facility at CERN. At some particular stellar s-process environments, the decay of both nuclei is strongly enhanced, and determines decisively the abundance of two s-only isotopes of lead, 204Pb and 205Pb. The latter, as a long-lived radioactive nucleus, has potential use as a chronometer of the last s-process events that contributed to final solar isotopic abundances

80Se(n,γ) cross-section measurement at CERN n TOF

Radiative neutron capture cross section measurements are of fundamental importance for the study of the slow neutron capture (s-) process of nucleosynthesis. This mechanism is responsible for the formation of most elements heavier than iron in the Universe. Particularly relevant are branching nuclei along the s-process path, which are sensitive to the physical conditions of the stellar environment. One such example is the branching at 79Se (3.27 × 105 y), which shows a thermally dependent ß-decay rate. However, an astrophysically consistent interpretation requires also the knowledge of the closest neighbour isotopes involved. In particular, the 80Se(n,?) cross section directly affects the stellar yield of the "cold"branch leading to the formation of the s-only 82Kr. Experimentally, there exists only one previous measurement on 80Se using the time of flight (TOF) technique. However, the latter suffers from some limitations that are described in this presentation. These drawbacks have been significantly improved in a recent measurement at CERN n TOF. This contribution presents a summary of the latter measurement and the status of the data analysis

Measurement of the 244^{244} Cm and 246^{246} Cm Neutron-Induced Cross Sections at the n_TOF Facility

International audienceThe neutron capture reactions of the$^{244}$ Cm and$^{246}$ Cm isotopes open the path for the formation of heavier Cm isotopes and of heavier elements such as Bk and Cf in a nuclear reactor. In addition, both isotopes belong to the minor actinides with a large contribution to the decay heat and to the neutron emission in irradiated fuels proposed for the transmutation of nuclear waste and fast critical reactors. The available experimental data for both isotopes are very scarce. We measured the neutron capture cross section with isotopically enriched samples of$^{244}$ Cm and$^{246}$ Cm provided by JAEA. The measurement covers the range from 1 eV to 250 eV in the n_TOF Experimental Area 2 (EAR-2). In addition, a normalization measurement with the$^{244}$ Cm sample was performed at Experimental Area 1 (EAR-1) with the Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC)

Measurement of the energy-differential cross-section of the 12^{12}C(n,p)12^{12}B and 12^{12}C(n,d)11^{11}B reactions at the n_TOF facility at CERN

International audienceAlthough the $^{12}$C(n,p)$^{12}$B and $^{12}$C(n,d)$^{11}$B reactions are of interest in several fields of basic and applied Nuclear Physics the present knowledge of these two cross-sections is far from being accurate and reliable, with both evaluations and data showing sizable discrepancies. As part of the challenging n_TOF program on (n,cp) nuclear reactions study, the energy differential cross-sections of the $^{12}$C(n,p)$^{12}$B and $^{12}$C(n,d)$^{11}$B reactions have been measured at CERN from the reaction thresholds up to 30 MeV neutron energy. Both measurements have been recently performed at the long flight-path (185 m) experimental area of the n_TOF facility at CERN using a pure (99.95%) rigid graphite target and two silicon telescopes. In this paper an overview of the experiment is presented together with a few preliminary results.</jats:p

First results of the 241^{241}Am(n,f) cross section measurement at the Experimental Area 2 of the n_TOF facility at CERN

International audienceFeasibility, 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 $^{241}$ Am ($T$$_{1/2}$ = 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 $\beta$-decay of $^{241}$Pu 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 $^{241}$Pu 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 $^{235}$U(n,f) and $^{238}$U(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.</jats:p

Measurement of the 244^{244}Cm capture cross sections at both CERN n_TOF experimental areas

International audienceAccurate neutron capture cross section data for minor actinides (MAs) are required to estimate the production and transmutation rates of MAs in light water reactors with a high burnup, critical fast reactors like Gen-IV systems and other innovative reactor systems such as accelerator driven systems (ADS). Capture reactions of $^{244}$Cm open the path for the formation of heavier Cm isotopes and of heavier elements such as Bk and Cf. In addition,$^{244}$Cm shares nearly 50% of the total actinide decay heat in irradiated reactor fuels with a high burnup, even after three years of cooling.Experimental data for this isotope are very scarce due to the difficulties of providing isotopically enriched samples and because the high intrinsic activity of the samples requires the use of neutron facilities with high instantaneous flux. The only two previous experimental data sets for this neutron capture cross section have been obtained in 1969 using a nuclear explosion and, more recently, at J-PARC in 2010. The neutron capture cross sections have been measured at n_TOF with the same samples that the previous experiments in J-PARC. The samples were measured at n_TOF Experimental Area 2 (EAR-2) with three C$_{6}$D$_{6}$ detectors and also in Experimental Area 1 (EAR-1) with the Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC). Preliminary results assessing the quality and limitations of these new experimental datasets are presented for the experiments in both areas. Preliminary yields of both measurements will be compared with evaluated libraries for the first time.</jats:p

Characterization and First Test of an i-TED Prototype at CERN n_TOF

International audienceNeutron capture cross section measurements are of fundamental importance for the study of the slow process of neutron capture, so called s-process. This mechanism is responsible for the formation of most elements heavier than iron in the Universe. To this aim, installations and detectors have been developed, as total energy radiation C$_{6}$ D$_{6}$ detectors. However, these detectors can not distinguish between true capture gamma rays from the sample under study and neutron induced gamma rays produced in the surroundings of the setup. To improve this situation, we propose (Domingo Pardo in Nucl Instr Meth Phys Res A 825:78–86, 2016, [1]) the use of the Compton principle to select events produced in the sample and discard background events. This involves using detectors capable of resolving the interaction position of the gamma ray inside the detector itself, as well as a high energy resolution. These are the main features of i-TED, a total energy detector capable of gamma ray imaging. Such system is being developed at the “Gamma Spectroscopy and Neutrons Group” at IFIC ( http://webgamma.ific.uv.es/gamma/es/ , [2]), in the framework of the ERC-funded project HYMNS (High sensitivitY and Measurements of key stellar Nucleo-Synthesis reactions). This work summarizes first tests with neutron beam at CERN n $\_$ TOF

Fission program at n_TOF

International audienceSince its start in 2001 the n_TOF collaboration developed a measurement program on fission, in view of advanced fuels in new generation reactors. A special effort was made on measurement of cross sections of actinides, exploiting the peculiarity of the n_TOF neutron beam which spans a huge energy domain, from the thermal region up to GeV. Moreover fission fragment angular distributions have also been measured. An overview of the cross section results achieved with different detectors is presented, including a discussion of the 237Np case where discrepancies showed up between different detector systems. The results on the anisotropy of the fission fragments and its implication on the mechanism of neutron absorption, and in applications, are also shown

New reaction rates for the destruction of 7^7Be during big bang nucleosynthesis measured at CERN/n_TOF and their implications on the cosmological lithium problem

International audienceNew measurements of the $^{7}$Be (n,$\alpha$)$^{4}$He and $^{7}$Be(n,p)$^{7}$Li reaction cross sections from thermal to keV neutron energies have been recently performed at CERN/n_TOF. Based on the new experimental results, astrophysical reaction rates have been derived for both reactions, including a proper evaluation of their uncertainties in the thermal energy range of interest for big bang nucleosynthesis studies. The new estimate of the $^{7}$Be destruction rate, based on these new results, yields a decrease of the predicted cosmological $^{7}$Li abundance insufficient to provide a viable solution to the cosmological lithium problem.</jats:p

Status and perspectives of the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN

International audienceSince 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.</jats:p