-Delayed Neutron Spectroscopy Using Trapped Radioactive Ions
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Physical and Life Sciences Directorate; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Physical and Life Sciences Directorate
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Physics Division
- McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada). Dept of Physics
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Physics Division; Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Physics
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Physics Division; Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Joint Inst. for Nuclear Astrophysics
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Physics Division; Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Physics Division; Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Physics Division; McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada). Dept of Physics
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
- Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Here, a novel technique for β-delayed neutron spectroscopy has been demonstrated using trapped ions. The neutron-energy spectrum is reconstructed by measuring the time of flight of the nuclear recoil following neutron emission, thereby avoiding all the challenges associated with neutron detection, such as backgrounds from scattered neutrons and γ rays and complicated detector-response functions. 137I+ ions delivered from a 252Cf source were confined in a linear Paul trap surrounded by radiation detectors, and the β-delayed neutron-energy spectrum and branching ratio were determined by detecting the β- and recoil ions in coincidence. Systematic effects were explored by determining the branching ratio three ways. Improvements to achieve higher detection efficiency, better energy resolution, and a lower neutron-energy threshold are proposed.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Nuclear Science and Security Consortium (NSSC); USDHS; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0000979; AC02-06CH11357; AC52-07NA27344; FG02-98ER41086; 216974; DGE-0638477
- OSTI ID:
- 1454836
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1102357
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 110, Issue 9; ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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