Temperature-tuned Maxwell-Boltzmann neutron spectra for kT ranging from 30 up to 50 keV for nuclear astrophysics studies

G Martín-Hernández; P F Mastinu; J Praena; N Dzysiuk; R Capote Noy; M Pignatari

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.05.004

Temperature-tuned Maxwell-Boltzmann neutron spectra for kT ranging from 30 up to 50 keV for nuclear astrophysics studies

Appl Radiat Isot. 2012 Aug;70(8):1583-9. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.05.004. Epub 2012 May 17.

Authors

G Martín-Hernández¹, P F Mastinu, J Praena, N Dzysiuk, R Capote Noy, M Pignatari

Affiliation

¹ Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnológicas y Desarrollo Nuclear, 5(ta) y 30, Playa, La Habana, Cuba. guido@ceaden.edu.cu

PMID: 22732394
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.05.004

Abstract

The need of neutron capture cross section measurements for astrophysics motivates present work, where calculations to generate stellar neutron spectra at different temperatures are performed. The accelerator-based (7)Li(p,n)(7)Be reaction is used. Shaping the proton beam energy and the sample covering a specific solid angle, neutron activation for measuring stellar-averaged capture cross section can be done. High-quality Maxwell-Boltzmann neutron spectra are predicted. Assuming a general behavior of the neutron capture cross section a weighted fit of the spectrum to Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions is successfully introduced.