The response of a position-sensitive Li-glass based scintillation detector being developed for thermal-neutron detection with 6 mm position resolution has been investigated using focused beams of ...2.5MeV protons and deuterons. The beams were scanned across the detector in 0.5 mm horizontal and vertical steps perpendicular to the beams. Scintillation light was registered using an 8 × 8 pixel multi-anode photomultiplier tube. The signal amplitudes were recorded for each pixel on an event-by-event basis. Several pixels generally registered considerable signals at each beam location. To optimize planned detector operation at the European Spallation Source, the number of pixels above set thresholds was investigated, with the maximization of the single-hit efficiency over the largest possible area as the primary goal. For both beams, at a threshold of ∼50% of the mean of the full-deposition peak, ∼80% of the events were registered in a single pixel, resulting in an effective position resolution of ∼5 mm in X and Y. Lower thresholds resulted in higher pixel multiplicities. These events could also be localized with the same effective position resolution.
The response of a NE-213 liquid-scintillator detector has been measured using tagged neutrons from 2 to 6 MeV originating from an Am/Be neutron source. The neutron energies were determined using the ...time-of-flight technique. Pulse-shape discrimination was employed to discern between gamma-rays and neutrons. The behavior of both the fast (35 ns) and the combined fast and slow (475 ns) components of the neutron scintillation-light pulses were studied. Three different prescriptions were used to relate the neutron maximum energy-transfer edges to the corresponding recoil-proton scintillation-light yields, and the results were compared to simulations. The overall normalizations of parametrizations which predict the fast or total light yield of the scintillation pulses were also tested. Our results agree with both existing data and existing parametrizations. We observe a clear sensitivity to the portion and length of the neutron scintillation-light pulse considered.
The Applied Nuclear Physics Group at Lund University is constructing a prototype CANS (Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Source). The CANS is based around a 3 MV, single-ended, Pelletron ...accelerator, which is used to impinge a 2.8 MeV deuterium beam into a beryllium target. The anticipated neutron production will be on the order of 1010 n/s in 4π sr. A further upgrade to the ion source of the Pelletron is expected to increase neutron production to 1011 n/s. Neutron energies will be up to 9 MeV with peak emission at ∼5 MeV. Shielding and moderation will be provided by a large water tank surrounding the target, with three exit ports to allow neutrons of different energies to be directed to experiments. The design is supported by simulation results which predict fast-neutron fluxes of 9×104 to 5×106 n/cm2/s, and thermal-neutron fluxes of 1×104 to 5×104 n/cm2/s to be readily obtainable with a 10 µA deuteron beam.
The first experimental investigation of the near-threshold cross section for incoherent π- photoproduction on the deuteron γd → π- pp is presented. The experimental technique involved detection of ...the ≈ 131 MeV γ ray resulting from the radiative capture of photoproduced π- in the target. The total cross section was measured using an unpolarized tagged-photon beam, a liquid-deuterium target, and three very large NaI(Tl) spectrometers. The data are compared to theoretical models that give insight into the elementary reaction γ n → π- p and pion-nucleon and nucleon-nucleon final-state interactions.
We present a survey of the radiation background at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, USA during routine daily operation. A broad range of detectors was used to ...characterize primarily the neutron and photon fields throughout the facility. These include a WENDI-2 extended range dosimeter, a thermoscientific NRD, an Arktis 4He detector, and a standard NaI photon detector. The information gathered from the detectors was used to map out the neutron dose rates throughout the facility and also the neutron dose rate and flux profiles of several different beamlines. The survey provides detailed information useful for developing future shielding concepts at spallation neutron sources, such as the European Spallation Source (ESS), currently under construction in Lund, Sweden.
Coincidence and time-of-flight measurement techniques are employed to tag fission neutrons emitted from a 252Cf source sealed on one side with a very thin layer of Au. The source is positioned within ...a gaseous 4He scintillator detector. Together with α particles, both light and heavy fission fragments pass through the thin layer of Au and are detected. The fragments enable the corresponding fission neutrons, which are detected in a NE-213 liquid-scintillator detector, to be tagged. The resulting continuous polychromatic beam of tagged neutrons has an energy dependence that agrees qualitatively with expectations. We anticipate that this technique will provide a cost-effective means for the characterization of neutron-detector efficiency in the energy range 1–6MeV.
•Neutrons emitted from a 252Cf source with a thin window are tagged using the corresponding fission fragments.•The resulting beam of neutrons is continuous and polychromatic.•The energy of each neutron is determined via the time-of-flight technique.•The approach is anticipated to facilitate cost-effective determinations of neutron-detector efficiencies.
A first comparison has been made between the pulse-shape discrimination characteristics of a novel He-4-based pressurized scintillation detector and a NE-213 liquicl-scintillator reference detector ...using an Am/Be mixed-field neutron and gamma-ray source and a high-resolution scintillation-pulse digitizer. In particular, the capabilities of the two fast neutron detectors to discriminate between neutrons and gamma-rays were investigated. The NE-213 liquicl-scintillator reference cell produced a wide range of scintillation-light yields in response to he gamma-ray field of the source. In stark contrast, clue to the size and pressure of the He-4 gas volume, the He-4-based detector registered a maximum scintillation-light yield of 750 keV(ee) to the same gamma-ray field. Pulse-shape discrimination for particles with scintillation-light yields of more than 750 keV(ee) was excellent in the case of the He-4-based detector. Above 750 keV(ee) its signal was unambiguously neutron, enabling particle identification based entirely upon the amount of scintillation light produced. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
The response of a position-sensitive Li-glass scintillator detector to alpha-particles from a collimated Am-241 source scanned across the face of the detector has been measured. Scintillation light ...was read out by an 8 x 8 pixel multi-anode photomultiplier and the signal amplitude for each pixel has been recorded for every position on a scan. The pixel signal is strongly dependent on position and in general several pixels will register a signal (a hit) above a given threshold. The effect of this threshold on hit multiplicity is studied, with a view to optimize the single-hit efficiency of the detector.
The electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon are fundamental nucleon-structure observables that characterize its response to external electromagnetic fields. The neutron polarizabilities can ...be accessed from Compton-scattering data on light nuclear targets. Recent measurements of the differential cross section for Compton scattering on the deuteron below the pion-production threshold have decreased the uncertainties in the neutron polarizabilities, yet the proton polarizabilities remain known substantially more accurately. Here, as the sensitivity of the cross section to the polarizabilities increases with incident photon energy, measurements above the pion threshold may offer a way for an improved determination of the neutron polarizabilities. In this work, the first measurement of the cross section for Compton scattering on the deuteron above the pion-production threshold is presented.
Coincidence and time-of-flight measurement techniques are employed to tag fission neutrons emitted from a
Cf source sealed on one side with a very thin layer of Au. The source is positioned within a ...gaseous
He scintillator detector. Together with α particles, both light and heavy fission fragments pass through the thin layer of Au and are detected. The fragments enable the corresponding fission neutrons, which are detected in a NE-213 liquid-scintillator detector, to be tagged. The resulting continuous polychromatic beam of tagged neutrons has an energy dependence that agrees qualitatively with expectations. We anticipate that this technique will provide a cost-effective means for the characterization of neutron-detector efficiency in the energy range 1-6MeV.
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