Colorado School of Mines low energy nuclear physics project

Abstract

A major accomplishment of this project in the past year is the completion of a fairly comprehensive paper describing the survey of radiative capture reactions of protons on light nuclei at low energies. In addition we have completed a preliminary set of measurements of (d,p)/(d,{alpha}) cross section ratios on the charge symmetric nuclei {sup 6}Li and {sup 10}B as a test of the Oppenheimer-Phillips effect. While the {sup 6}Li data remain inconclusive, the {sup 10}B data show solid evidence for the Oppenheimer-Phillips enhancement of the (d,p) reaction relative to the (d,{alpha}) reaction for deuteron bombarding energies below about 100 keV. We have continued our investigation of fusion reaction products from deuterium-metal systems at room temperatures with the startling observation of intense burst of energetic charged particles from deuterium gas loaded thin titaium foils subject to non-equilibrium thermal and electrical conditions. We have completed two projects involving the application of the low energy particle accelerator to material science problems; firstly a study of the transformation of crystalline to amorphous Fe-Zr systems by proton irradiation and secondly the effects of ion bombardment on the critical temperature of YBCO high-temperature superconductors. Finally we have made progress in several instrumentation projects which will be used in some of the up-coming measurements of nuclear cross sections at very low energies.