Neutron proton bremsstrahlung experiments at the LAMPF/WNR facility

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:199606

Mayo, D R ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

The classical definition of bremsstrahlung is the process in which an electron is accelerated by an external field and radiates. The term bremsstrahlung can also apply to an inelastic process which occurs in the scattering of nucleons, resulting in the emission of {gamma}-rays. In the nucleon bremsstrahlung case, the emitted photon can couple to an exchanged meson as well as to either an incoming or outgoing nucleon. Because the coupling of the photon to the charged exchange meson is large, bremsstrahlung can be used to probe the exchange currents in the neutron-proton interaction. Due to the difficulty in performing these experiments, measurements of the neutron-proton bremsstrahlung cross sections are very sparse. The authors have measured the outgoing photon energy spectra for angles of 90 and 117 degrees relative to the beam of 50 - 400 MeV neutrons incident on a liquid hydrogen target. Additionally they are measuring neutrons and protons in coincidence. This differential measurement allows the authors to remove ambiguities and provide a more sensitive test of the theories describing the process. The measurements will be discussed, as well as what may be learned from this fundamental process.

• OSTI ID: 199606
• Report Number(s): CONF-941129--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
BREMSSTRAHLUNG
EXCHANGE INTERACTIONS
MEV RANGE 10-100
MEV RANGE 100-1000
PROTON-NEUTRON INTERACTIONS