DANCEing with the Stars: Measuring Neutron Capture on Unstable Isotopes with DANCE

Journal Article · Tue Mar 10 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3120137· OSTI ID:21289631

Couture, A; Bond, E; Bredeweg, T A; Fowler, M; Haight, R C; Jandel, M; Keksis, A L; O'Donnell, J M; Rundberg, R; Ullmann, J L; Vieira, D J; Wouters, J M ^[1]; Agvaanluvsan, U; Becker, J A ^[2]; Baker, J D ^[3]; Bayarbadrahk, B; Chyzh, A; Dashdorj, D ^[4]; Reifarth, R ^[5]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave, Livermore, CA, 94551 (United States)
3. Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 (United States)
4. North Carolina State University, Department of Physics, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States)
5. Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Plankstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany)

Isotopes heavier than iron are known to be produced in stars through neutron capture processes. Two major processes, the slow (s) and rapid (r) processes are each responsible for 50% of the abundances of the heavy isotopes. The neutron capture cross sections of the isotopes on the s process path reveal information about the expected abundances of the elements as well as stellar conditions and dynamics. Until recently, measurements on unstable isotopes, which are most important for determining stellar temperatures and reaction flow, have not been experimentally feasible. The Detector for Advance Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE) located at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) was designed to perform time-of-flight neutron capture measurements on unstable isotopes for nuclear astrophysics, stockpile stewardship, and reactor development. DANCE is a 4-{pi}BaF{sub 2} scintillator array which can perform measurements on sub-milligram samples of isotopes with half-lives as short as a few hundred days. These cross sections are critical for advancing our understanding of the production of the heavy isotopes.

• OSTI ID: 21289631
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 1099; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS
BARIUM FLUORIDES
CAPTURE
CROSS SECTIONS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
FOUR-PI COUNTING
FOUR-PI DETECTORS
NEUTRON REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
R PROCESS
S PROCESS
SOLID SCINTILLATION DETECTORS
TIME-OF-FLIGHT METHOD