Stellar 30-keV neutron capture in 94, 96Zr and the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction with a high-power liquid-lithium target

M. Tessler; M. Paul; A. Arenshtam; G. Feinberg; M. Friedman; S. Halfon; D. Kijel; L. Weissman; O. Aviv; D. Berkovits; Y. Eisen; I. Eliyahu; G. Haquin; A. Kreisel; I. Mardor; G. Shimel; A. Shor; I. Silverman; Z. Yungrais

doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058

Stellar 30-keV neutron capture in ^{94, 96}Zr and the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction with a high-power liquid-lithium target

M. Tessler, M. Paul^*, A. Arenshtam, G. Feinberg, M. Friedman, S. Halfon, D. Kijel, L. Weissman, O. Aviv, D. Berkovits, Y. Eisen, I. Eliyahu, G. Haquin, A. Kreisel, I. Mardor, G. Shimel, A. Shor, I. Silverman, Z. Yungrais

^*Corresponding author for this work

Racah Institute of Physics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

A high-power Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) was used for the first time for neutron production via the thick-target Li7(p,n)Be7 reaction and quantitative determination of neutron capture cross sections. Bombarded with a 1-2 mA proton beam at 1.92 MeV from the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), the setup yields a 30-keV quasi-Maxwellian neutron spectrum with an intensity of 3-5×10¹⁰ n/s, more than one order of magnitude larger than present near-threshold Li7(p,n) neutron sources. The setup was used here to determine the 30-keV Maxwellian averaged cross section (MACS) of ⁹⁴Zr and ⁹⁶Zr as 28.0±0.6 mb and 12.4±0.5 mb respectively, based on activation measurements. The precision of the cross section determinations results both from the high neutron yield and from detailed simulations of the entire experimental setup. We plan to extend our experimental studies to low-abundance and radioactive targets. In addition, we show here that the setup yields intense high-energy (17.6 and 14.6 MeV) prompt capture γ rays from the Li7(p,γ)Be8 reaction with yields of ~3×10⁸γs^-1mA^-1 and ~4×10⁸γs^-1mA^-1, respectively, evidenced by the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	418-422
Number of pages	5
Journal	Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
Volume	751
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058
State	Published - 17 Dec 2015

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge gratefully the support of the Pazi Foundation (Israel) and of the German–Israeli Foundation ( GIF Research Grant No. G-1051-103.7/2009 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors.

Keywords

High-intensity neutron source
Li7(p,n)
Maxwellian Averaged Cross Section (MACS)
Zr90(γ,n)
Zr94,96(n,γ)

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10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058

Cite this

Tessler, M., Paul, M., Arenshtam, A., Feinberg, G., Friedman, M., Halfon, S., Kijel, D., Weissman, L., Aviv, O., Berkovits, D., Eisen, Y., Eliyahu, I., Haquin, G., Kreisel, A., Mardor, I., Shimel, G., Shor, A., Silverman, I., & Yungrais, Z. (2015). Stellar 30-keV neutron capture in ^{94, 96}Zr and the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction with a high-power liquid-lithium target. Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, 751, 418-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058

@article{a20dc424ae5842ddbac374ff4876b702,

title = "Stellar 30-keV neutron capture in 94, 96Zr and the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction with a high-power liquid-lithium target",

abstract = "A high-power Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) was used for the first time for neutron production via the thick-target Li7(p,n)Be7 reaction and quantitative determination of neutron capture cross sections. Bombarded with a 1-2 mA proton beam at 1.92 MeV from the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), the setup yields a 30-keV quasi-Maxwellian neutron spectrum with an intensity of 3-5×1010 n/s, more than one order of magnitude larger than present near-threshold Li7(p,n) neutron sources. The setup was used here to determine the 30-keV Maxwellian averaged cross section (MACS) of 94Zr and 96Zr as 28.0±0.6 mb and 12.4±0.5 mb respectively, based on activation measurements. The precision of the cross section determinations results both from the high neutron yield and from detailed simulations of the entire experimental setup. We plan to extend our experimental studies to low-abundance and radioactive targets. In addition, we show here that the setup yields intense high-energy (17.6 and 14.6 MeV) prompt capture γ rays from the Li7(p,γ)Be8 reaction with yields of ~3×108γs-1mA-1 and ~4×108γs-1mA-1, respectively, evidenced by the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction.",

keywords = "High-intensity neutron source, Li7(p,n), Maxwellian Averaged Cross Section (MACS), Zr90(γ,n), Zr94,96(n,γ)",

author = "M. Tessler and M. Paul and A. Arenshtam and G. Feinberg and M. Friedman and S. Halfon and D. Kijel and L. Weissman and O. Aviv and D. Berkovits and Y. Eisen and I. Eliyahu and G. Haquin and A. Kreisel and I. Mardor and G. Shimel and A. Shor and I. Silverman and Z. Yungrais",

note = "Funding Information: We acknowledge gratefully the support of the Pazi Foundation (Israel) and of the German–Israeli Foundation ( GIF Research Grant No. G-1051-103.7/2009 ). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2015 The Authors.",

year = "2015",

month = dec,

day = "17",

doi = "10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058",

language = "American English",

volume = "751",

pages = "418--422",

journal = "Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics",

issn = "0370-2693",

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Tessler, M, Paul, M, Arenshtam, A, Feinberg, G, Friedman, M, Halfon, S, Kijel, D, Weissman, L, Aviv, O, Berkovits, D, Eisen, Y, Eliyahu, I, Haquin, G, Kreisel, A, Mardor, I, Shimel, G, Shor, A, Silverman, I & Yungrais, Z 2015, 'Stellar 30-keV neutron capture in ^{94, 96}Zr and the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction with a high-power liquid-lithium target', Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, vol. 751, pp. 418-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058

TY - JOUR

T1 - Stellar 30-keV neutron capture in 94, 96Zr and the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction with a high-power liquid-lithium target

AU - Tessler, M.

AU - Paul, M.

AU - Arenshtam, A.

AU - Feinberg, G.

AU - Friedman, M.

AU - Halfon, S.

AU - Kijel, D.

AU - Weissman, L.

AU - Aviv, O.

AU - Berkovits, D.

AU - Eisen, Y.

AU - Eliyahu, I.

AU - Haquin, G.

AU - Kreisel, A.

AU - Mardor, I.

AU - Shimel, G.

AU - Shor, A.

AU - Silverman, I.

AU - Yungrais, Z.

N1 - Funding Information: We acknowledge gratefully the support of the Pazi Foundation (Israel) and of the German–Israeli Foundation ( GIF Research Grant No. G-1051-103.7/2009 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2015 The Authors.

PY - 2015/12/17

Y1 - 2015/12/17

N2 - A high-power Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) was used for the first time for neutron production via the thick-target Li7(p,n)Be7 reaction and quantitative determination of neutron capture cross sections. Bombarded with a 1-2 mA proton beam at 1.92 MeV from the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), the setup yields a 30-keV quasi-Maxwellian neutron spectrum with an intensity of 3-5×1010 n/s, more than one order of magnitude larger than present near-threshold Li7(p,n) neutron sources. The setup was used here to determine the 30-keV Maxwellian averaged cross section (MACS) of 94Zr and 96Zr as 28.0±0.6 mb and 12.4±0.5 mb respectively, based on activation measurements. The precision of the cross section determinations results both from the high neutron yield and from detailed simulations of the entire experimental setup. We plan to extend our experimental studies to low-abundance and radioactive targets. In addition, we show here that the setup yields intense high-energy (17.6 and 14.6 MeV) prompt capture γ rays from the Li7(p,γ)Be8 reaction with yields of ~3×108γs-1mA-1 and ~4×108γs-1mA-1, respectively, evidenced by the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction.

AB - A high-power Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) was used for the first time for neutron production via the thick-target Li7(p,n)Be7 reaction and quantitative determination of neutron capture cross sections. Bombarded with a 1-2 mA proton beam at 1.92 MeV from the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), the setup yields a 30-keV quasi-Maxwellian neutron spectrum with an intensity of 3-5×1010 n/s, more than one order of magnitude larger than present near-threshold Li7(p,n) neutron sources. The setup was used here to determine the 30-keV Maxwellian averaged cross section (MACS) of 94Zr and 96Zr as 28.0±0.6 mb and 12.4±0.5 mb respectively, based on activation measurements. The precision of the cross section determinations results both from the high neutron yield and from detailed simulations of the entire experimental setup. We plan to extend our experimental studies to low-abundance and radioactive targets. In addition, we show here that the setup yields intense high-energy (17.6 and 14.6 MeV) prompt capture γ rays from the Li7(p,γ)Be8 reaction with yields of ~3×108γs-1mA-1 and ~4×108γs-1mA-1, respectively, evidenced by the Zr90(γ,n)Zr89 photonuclear reaction.

KW - High-intensity neutron source

KW - Li7(p,n)

KW - Maxwellian Averaged Cross Section (MACS)

KW - Zr90(γ,n)

KW - Zr94,96(n,γ)

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U2 - 10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058

DO - 10.1016/j.physletb.2015.10.058

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AN - SCOPUS:84946429527

SN - 0370-2693

VL - 751

SP - 418

EP - 422

JO - Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics

JF - Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics

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