Measurement of the 134Xe(n,2n)133m,gXe and 136Xe(n,2n)135m,gXe reaction cross-sections and isomeric ratios induced by the 14.8 MeV neutrons

Hao Guo; Qian Li; Chunlei Zhang; Liyang Jiang; Xichao Ruan

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110948

Measurement of the ¹³⁴Xe(n,2n)^133m,gXe and ¹³⁶Xe(n,2n)^135m,gXe reaction cross-sections and isomeric ratios induced by the 14.8 MeV neutrons

Appl Radiat Isot. 2023 Oct:200:110948. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110948. Epub 2023 Jul 20.

Authors

Hao Guo¹, Qian Li², Chunlei Zhang³, Liyang Jiang⁴, Xichao Ruan¹

Affiliations

¹ China Institute of Atomic Energy, BeiJing, 102413, China.
² China Institute of Atomic Energy, BeiJing, 102413, China; Beijing Normal University, BeiJing, 100875, China.
³ Beijing Normal University, BeiJing, 100875, China. Electronic address: lei@bnu.edu.cn.
⁴ China Institute of Atomic Energy, BeiJing, 102413, China. Electronic address: Jiangly@ciae.ac.cn.

PMID: 37556935
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110948

Abstract

The precise measurement of the (n, 2n) reaction cross-sections of xenon isotopes is of great significance for the diagnosis of the Inertial Confinement Fusion fuel area density ρR. The preparation of xenon samples and how they can be efficiently adsorbed to obtain an optimal reaction cross section are extremely difficult in existing experiments. This work aims to use the ⁹³Nb(n,2n)^92mNb reaction cross section as the standard to calculate the cross-sections and isomeric ratio for ¹³⁴Xe(n,2n)^133m,gXe and ¹³⁶Xe(n,2n)^135m,gXe reactions. This work also aims to explore the feasibility of adsorbent selection, the method of adsorption sample and the feasibility of the method used in the laboratory. In this paper, the Geant4 program was used to simulate and calculate the adsorption factors of activated carbon and polymer for standard ¹⁵²Eu multi-line sources, so as to determine the most suitable adsorption material. Next, the GammaVision analysis software was used to observe whether the characteristic γ-rays released by other isotope reaction products of xenon in the sample and packaging material had an effect on the characteristic γ-rays of the target product. Then, the basic principle of activation method and the relative measurement principle are used to calculate the cross-sections and isomeric ratio for ¹³⁴Xe(n,2n)¹³³Xe and ¹³⁶Xe(n,2n)¹³⁵Xe reactions. Finally, the experimental results are compared and analyzed with the existing data in EXFOR database to verify whether the experimental method is correct.

Keywords: Activation method; Adsorption material; Geant4 program; HPGe detector; Ratios of reaction cross-section; Relative detection efficiency.