Cross Section of the (n, 2n) Reaction in 12C in the Energy Interval 20-30 MeV
Date
2012-10-24
Authors
Padalino, Stephen
Polsin, Danae
Russ, Megan
Krieger, Michael
Stillman, Collin
Simone, Angela
Bienstock, Mollie
Ellison, Drew
Yuly, Mark
Mann, Keith
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Houghton College
Abstract
The behavior of the (n, 2n) reaction in 12C and other light nuclei is known with much less certainty than for heavy nuclei. The published cross section data for the 12C(n, 2n)11C reaction is bifurcated in the energy range of 20-30 MeV. An experiment to measure the 12 C(n,2n)11C cross section for these neutron energies has been performed using the Ohio University Tandem Accelerator. Deuterons from the accelerator struck a tritium foil releasing neutrons via the T(d, n)4He reaction. Deuteron bombarding energies between 3.3-8.7 MeV resulted in neutrons with energies between 20-26 MeV. The geometry of the experiment was chosen so that the incident neutron energy would not vary by more than 0.5 MeV across the graphite target. After neutron bombardment, the decay of the 11C nuclei by positron emission was measured with an array of NaI detectors to determine the activity of the carbon sample. The neutron fluence through the carbon was measured using a particle telescope to detect protons from the 1H(n, p) reac9on in a polyethylene target, allowing the absolute cross section for the 12C(n, 2n)11C reaction to be determined. Funded in part by a grant from the DOE through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
Description
Event
2012 Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics, Newport Beach, CA, October 24-27, 2012.
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