The standard procedure for neutron reactor dosimetry is based on neutron irradiation of a target and its post-irradiation analysis by Gamma and/or X-ray spectrometry. Nowadays, the neutron spectra ...can be easily characterized for thermal and fast energies (respectively 0.025 eV and > 1~\hbox{MeV} ). In this paper we propose a new target and an innovating post-irradiation technique of analysis in order to detect the neutron spectra within the energy of 1 keV to 1 MeV. This paper will present the calculations performed for the selection of a suitable nuclear reaction and isotope, the results predicted by simulations, the irradiation campaign that is proposed, and the post-irradiation technique of analysis.
Accretion rate of extraterrestrial 41Ca in Antarctic snow samples Gómez-Guzmán, J.M.; Bishop, S.; Faestermann, T. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms,
10/2015, Volume:
361
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs) are small grains, generally less than a few hundred micrometers in size. Their main source is the Asteroid Belt, located at 3AU from the Sun, between Mars and ...Jupiter. During their flight from the Asteroid Belt to the Earth they are irradiated by galactic and solar cosmic rays (GCR and SCR), thus radionuclides are formed, like 41Ca and 53Mn. Therefore, 41Ca (T1/2=1.03×105yr) can be used as a key tracer to determine the accretion rate of IDPs onto the Earth because there are no significant terrestrial sources for this radionuclide. The first step of this study consisted to calculate the production rate of 41Ca in IDPs accreted by the Earth during their travel from the Asteroid Belt. This production rate, used in accordance with the 41Ca/40Ca ratios that will be measured in snow samples from the Antarctica will be used to calculate the amount of extraterrestrial material accreted by the Earth per year. There challenges for this project are, at first, the much longer time for the flight needed by the IDPs to travel from the Asteroid Belt to the Earth in comparison with the 41Ca half-life yields an early saturation for the 41Ca/40Ca ratio, and second, the importance of selecting the correct sampling site to avoid a high influx of natural 40Ca, preventing dilution of the 41Ca/40Ca ratio, the quantity measured by AMS.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Half of the heavy elements including all actinides are produced in r-process nucleosynthesis, whose sites and history remain a mystery. If continuously produced, the Interstellar Medium is expected ...to build-up a quasi-steady state of abundances of short-lived nuclides (with half-lives ≤100 My), including actinides produced in r-process nucleosynthesis. Their existence in today's interstellar medium would serve as a radioactive clock and would establish that their production was recent. In particular (244)Pu, a radioactive actinide nuclide (half-life=81 My), can place strong constraints on recent r-process frequency and production yield. Here we report the detection of live interstellar (244)Pu, archived in Earth's deep-sea floor during the last 25 My, at abundances lower than expected from continuous production in the Galaxy by about 2 orders of magnitude. This large discrepancy may signal a rarity of actinide r-process nucleosynthesis sites, compatible with neutron-star mergers or with a small subset of actinide-producing supernovae.
A chemical separation procedure for plutonium (Pu) and neptunium (Np) was developed using extraction chromatography, mass spectrometry and radiometric analysis to determine their concentrations and ...isotopic ratios in sea water. 241Am, which causes isobaric background to 241Pu in mass spectrometric measurements, was successfully separated from the Pu fraction by this method. Water samples which were spiked with 242Pu and 237Np or 239Np, respectively, were used for chemical yield determination. The chemical yields of Pu and Np, which were determined by alpha and gamma spectrometry at the Radiochemie München (RCM), of more than 85% were obtained. The developed method was applied to analyze the concentration of Pu and Np in the certified reference material, IAEA-443, by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) at the Maier–Leibnitz-Laboratory (MLL) to check the applicability of the method to sea water samples. The concentrations of 240Pu, 241Pu and 237Np obtained in this study are in agreement with the certified and literature values within the uncertainties. Due to strong isotopic interference of 239Pu with 238U, it was not possible to analyze the concentration of 239Pu. Some modifications of the chemical separation method to suppress the uranium (U) fraction are under consideration. This method can be used for the analysis of Pu and Np in Pacific Ocean water samples collected after the Fukushima accident.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The sensitivity of rare event physics experiments like neutrino or direct dark matter detection crucially depends on the background level. A significant background contribution originates from the ...primordial actinides thorium (Th) and uranium (U) and the progenies of their decay chains. The applicability of ultra-sensitive Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) for the direct detection of Th and U impurities in three copper samples is evaluated. Although AMS has been proven to reach outstanding sensitivities for long-lived isotopes, this technique has only very rarely been used to detect ultra low concentrations of primordial actinides. Here it is utilized for the first time to detect primordial Th and U in ultra pure copper serving as shielding material in low level detectors. The lowest concentrations achieved were (1.5±0.6)·10-11g/g for Th and (8±4)·10-14g/g for U which corresponds to (59±24) and (1.0±0.5)μBq/kg, respectively.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Samples of two deep-sea sediment cores from the Indian Ocean are analyzed with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to search for traces of recent supernova activity ~2 Myr ago. Here, long-lived ...radionuclides, which are synthesized in massive stars and ejected in supernova explosions, namely super(26)Al, super(53)Mn and super(60)Fe, are extracted from the sediment samples. The cosmogenic isotope 10Be, which is mainly produced in the Earth's atmosphere, is analyzed for dating purposes of the marine sediment cores. The first AMS measurement results for super(10)Be and super(26)Al are presented, which represent for the first time a detailed study in the time period of 1.7-3.1 Myr with high time resolution. Our first results do not support a significant extraterrestrial signal of super(26)Al above terrestrial background. However, there is evidence that, like super(10)Be, super(26)Al might be a valuable isotope for dating of deep-sea sediment cores for the past few million years.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Cosmogenic He, Ne, and Ar as well as the radionuclides 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca, 53Mn, and 60Fe have been determined on samples from the Gebel Kamil ungrouped Ni‐rich iron meteorite by noble gas mass ...spectrometry and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), respectively. The meteorite is associated with the Kamil crater in southern Egypt, which is about 45 m in diameter. Samples originate from an individual large fragment (“Individual”) as well as from shrapnel. Concentrations of all cosmogenic nuclides—stable and radioactive—are lower by a factor 3–4 in the shrapnel samples than in the Individual. Assuming negligible 36Cl decay during terrestrial residence (indicated by the young crater age <5000 years; Folco et al. ), data are consistent with a simple exposure history and a 36Cl‐36Ar cosmic ray exposure age (CRE) of approximately (366 ± 18) Ma (systematic errors not included). Both noble gases and radionuclides point to a pre‐atmospheric radius >85 cm, i.e., a pre‐atmospheric mass >20 tons, with a preferred radius of 115–120 cm (50–60 tons). The analyzed samples came from a depth of approximately 20 cm (Individual) and approximately 50–80 cm (shrapnel). The size of the Gebel Kamil meteoroid determined in this work is close to estimates based on impact cratering models combined with expectations for ablation during passage through the atmosphere (Folco et al. , ).
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
– We report measurements of cosmogenic nuclides in up to 11 bulk samples from various depths in Norton County. The activities of 36Cl, 41Ca, 26Al, and 10Be were measured by accelerator mass ...spectrometry; the concentrations of the stable isotopes of He, Ne, Ar, and Sm were measured by electron and thermal ionization mass spectrometry, respectively. Production rates for the nuclides were modeled using the LAHET and the Monte Carlo N‐Particle codes. Assuming a one‐stage irradiation of a meteoroid with a pre‐atmospheric radius of approximately 50 cm, the model satisfactorily reproduces the depth profiles of 10Be, 26Al, and 53Mn (<6%) but overestimates the 41Ca concentrations by about 20%. 3He, 21Ne, and 26Al data give a one‐stage cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) age of 115 Ma. Argon‐36 released at intermediate temperatures, 36Arn, is attributed to production by thermal neutrons. From the values of 36Arn, an assumed average Cl concentration of 4 ppm, and a CRE age of 115 Ma, we estimate thermal neutron fluences of 1–4 × 1016 neutrons cm−2. We infer comparable values from ε149Sm and ε150Sm. Values calculated from 41Ca and a CRE age of 115 Ma, 0.2–1.4 × 1016 neutrons cm−2, are lower by a factor of approximately 2.5, indicating that nearly half of the 149Sm captures occurred earlier. One possible irradiation history places the center of proto‐Norton County at a depth of 88 cm in a large body for 140 Ma prior to its liberation as a meteoroid with a radius of 50 cm and further CRE for 100 Ma.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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