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Title: Determination of the effective sample thickness via radiative capture

Abstract

Our procedure for determining the effective thickness of non-uniform irregular-shaped samples via radiative capture is described. In this technique, partial γ-ray production cross sections of a compound nucleus produced in a neutron-capture reaction are measured using Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis and compared to their corresponding standardized absolute values. For the low-energy transitions, the measured cross sections are lower than their standard values due to significant photoelectric absorption of the γ rays within the bulk-sample volume itself. Using standard theoretical techniques, the amount of γ-ray self absorption and neutron self shielding can then be calculated by iteratively varying the sample thickness until the observed cross sections converge with the known standards. The overall attenuation provides a measure of the effective sample thickness illuminated by the neutron beam. This procedure is illustrated through radiative neutron capture using powdered oxide samples comprising enriched 186W and 182W from which their tungsten-equivalent effective thicknesses are deduced to be 0.077(3) mm and 0.042(8) mm, respectively.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  3. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (Hungary)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1229843
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1246226
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-673901
Journal ID: ISSN 0168-583X
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-07NA27344; AC02-05CH11231; OMFB-00184/2006
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 362; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-583X
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUMM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA); gamma-ray absorption; neutron attenuation; (n, γ) radiative capture; partial gamma-ray production cross sections

Citation Formats

Hurst, A. M., Summers, N. C., Szentmiklosi, L., Firestone, R. B., Basunia, M. S., Escher, J. E., and Sleaford, B. W. Determination of the effective sample thickness via radiative capture. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2015.09.003.
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Hurst, A. M., Summers, N. C., Szentmiklosi, L., Firestone, R. B., Basunia, M. S., Escher, J. E., & Sleaford, B. W. Determination of the effective sample thickness via radiative capture. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2015.09.003
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Hurst, A. M., Summers, N. C., Szentmiklosi, L., Firestone, R. B., Basunia, M. S., Escher, J. E., and Sleaford, B. W. Mon . "Determination of the effective sample thickness via radiative capture". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2015.09.003. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1229843.
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@article{osti_1229843,
title = {Determination of the effective sample thickness via radiative capture},
author = {Hurst, A. M. and Summers, N. C. and Szentmiklosi, L. and Firestone, R. B. and Basunia, M. S. and Escher, J. E. and Sleaford, B. W.},
abstractNote = {Our procedure for determining the effective thickness of non-uniform irregular-shaped samples via radiative capture is described. In this technique, partial γ-ray production cross sections of a compound nucleus produced in a neutron-capture reaction are measured using Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis and compared to their corresponding standardized absolute values. For the low-energy transitions, the measured cross sections are lower than their standard values due to significant photoelectric absorption of the γ rays within the bulk-sample volume itself. Using standard theoretical techniques, the amount of γ-ray self absorption and neutron self shielding can then be calculated by iteratively varying the sample thickness until the observed cross sections converge with the known standards. The overall attenuation provides a measure of the effective sample thickness illuminated by the neutron beam. This procedure is illustrated through radiative neutron capture using powdered oxide samples comprising enriched 186W and 182W from which their tungsten-equivalent effective thicknesses are deduced to be 0.077(3) mm and 0.042(8) mm, respectively.},
doi = {10.1016/j.nimb.2015.09.003},
journal = {Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms},
number = ,
volume = 362,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2015.09.003
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