Hornillos, M. B. G., Gorlychev, V., Caballero, R., Cortes, G., Poch, A., Pretel, C., et al. (2011). Monte Carlo Simulations for the Study of a Moderated Neutron Detector. J. Korean Phys. Soc., 59(2), 1573–1576.
Abstract: This work presents the Monte Carlo simulations performed with the MCNPX and GEANT4 codes for the design of a BEta deLayEd Neutron detector, BELEN-20. This detector will be used for the study of beta delayed neutron emission and consists of a block of polyethylene with dimensions 90 x 90 x 80 cm(3) and 20 cylindrical (3)He gas counters. The results of these simulations have been validated experimentally with a (252)Cf source in the laboratory at UPC, Barcelona. Also the first experiment with this detector has been carried out in November 2009 in JYFL, Finland. In this experiment the neutron emission probability after beta decay of the fission products (88)Br, (94,95)Rb, and (138)I has been measured; this data is still under analysis. Simulations with MCNPX and GEANT4 have been performed in order to obtain the efficiency of the BELEN-20 detector for each of the above nuclei using the neutron energy distribution corresponding to each nucleus.
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Jordan, D., Tain, J. L., Algora, A., Agramunt, J., Domingo-Pardo, C., Gomez-Hornillos, M. B., et al. (2013). Measurement of the neutron background at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory LSC. Astropart Phys., 42, 1–6.
Abstract: The energy distribution of the neutron background was measured for the first time at Hall A of the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. For this purpose we used a novel approach based on the combination of the information obtained with six large high-pressure He-3 proportional counters embedded in individual polyethylene blocks of different size. In this way not only the integral value but also the flux distribution as a function of neutron energy was determined in the range from 1 eV to 10 MeV. This information is of importance because different underground experiments show different neutron background energy dependence. The high sensitivity of the setup allowed to measure a neutron flux level which is about four orders of magnitude smaller that the neutron background at sea level. The integral value obtained is Phi(Hall A) = (3.44 +/- 0.35) x 10(-6) cm(-2) s(-1).
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Mendoza, E., Alcayne, V., Cano-Ott, D., Gonzalez-Romero, E., Martinez, T., de Rada, A. P., et al. (2023). Neutron capture measurements with high efficiency detectors and the Pulse Height Weighting Technique. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 1047, 167894–16pp.
Abstract: Neutron capture cross section measurements in time-of-flight facilities are usually performed by detecting the prompt 7-rays emitted in the capture reactions. One of the difficulties to be addressed in these measurements is that the emitted 7-rays may change with the neutron energy, and therefore also the detection efficiency. To deal with this situation, many measurements use the so called Total Energy Detection (TED) technique, usually in combination with the Pulse Height Weighting Technique (PHWT). With it, it is sought that the detection efficiency depends only on the total energy of the 7-ray cascade, which does not vary much with the neutron energy. This technique was developed in the 1960s and has been used in many neutron capture experiments to date. One of the requirements of the technique is that 7-ray detectors have a low efficiency. This has meant that the PHWT has been used with experimental setups with low detection efficiencies. However, this condition does not have to be fulfilled by the experimental system as a whole. The main goal of this work is to show that it is possible to measure with a high efficiency detection system that uses the PHWT, and how to analyze the measured data.
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Nacher, E., Rubio, B., Algora, A., Cano-Ott, D., Tain, J. L., Gadea, A., et al. (2016). Observations of the Gamow-Teller resonance in the rare-earth nuclei above Gd-146 populated in beta decay. Phys. Rev. C, 93(1), 014308–13pp.
Abstract: The rare-earth region of the nuclear table around the quasi-doubly magic nucleus Gd-146 is one of the very few places in which the Gamow-Teller (GT) resonance can be populated in beta decay. The appropriate technique to study such a phenomenon is total absorption spectroscopy, thanks to which one can measure the B(GT) distribution in beta-decay experiments even when it is very fragmented and lies at high excitation energy in the daughter nucleus. Results on the GT resonance measured in the beta decay of the odd-Z, N = 83 nuclei Tb-148, Ho-150, and Tm-152 are presented in this work and compared with shell-model calculations. The tail of the resonance is clearly observed up to the limit imposed by the Q value. This observation is important in the context of the understanding of the “quenching” of the GT strength.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Cano-Ott, D. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., & Tain, J. L. (2011). Neutron Capture Measuremetns on Minor Actinides at the n_TOF Facility at CERN: Past, Present and Future. J. Korean Phys. Soc., 59(2), 1809–1812.
Abstract: The successful development of advanced nuclear systems for sustainable energy production and nuclear waste management depends on high quality nuclear data libraries. Recent sensitivity studies and reports [1-3] have identified the need for substantially improving the accuracy of neutron cross-section data for minor actinides. The n_TOF collaboration has initiated an ambitious experimental program for the measurement of neutron capture cross sections of minor actinides. Two experimental setups have been constructed for this purpose: a Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC) [4] for measuring neutron capture cross-sections of low-mass and/or radioactive samples and a set of two low neutron sensitivity C(6)D(6) detectors for the less radioactive materials.
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