Cumulative fission yields of short-lived fission products from 235U and 239Pu measured by HPGe gamma-ray spectroscopy

Abstract

In this study, we present a preliminary investigation focused on determining cumulative fission yields for short-lived fission products. Our analysis involves examining gamma spectra from the irradiated samples of 235U and 239Pu using the High Flux Isotope Reactor. The motivation stems from the observed discrepancy in the antineutrino energy spectrum within the range of 5 to 7 MeV. While several hypotheses have been proposed, a thorough analysis of fission yields provides an additional way of gaining insight into this unexplained phenomenon. Our study suggests that the measured gamma rays from 100Nb, 140Cs and 95Sr are consistent with the expected values. However, 93Rb, 96Y, 97Y and 142Cs cannot be quantified due to insufficient statistics, interference from other gamma rays and the Compton scattering background. Additionally, the calculated cumulative fission yields based on the measured 140Cs and 95Sr are found to be consistent with the JEFF3.3 fission yield library. The present work shows that the potential of improving gamma-ray spectroscopy in the fission yields as a means to improve our understanding of the antineutrino spectrum.