Boundedness, continuity, positivity and dominance of the solution of the neutron boltzmann equation

Abstract

In this paper the behavior of the solution of the integral form of the neutron transport Boltzmann equation is investigated for slab and sphere geometry. The study of the properties of the integral transport operator K leads to interesting results concerning the following subjects: boundedness, continuity and positivity of the total flux; existence of a dominant critical eigenfunction; spectral properties of K; dependence of the critical eigenvalue on the dimensions of slab and sphere; uniform convergence of the Neumann series in subcritical conditions; approach to the criticality; summability of the solutions and neutron conservation.