Measurement of the 232Th Neutron Capture Cross Section at the CERN n_TOF Facility

Abstract

The use of a fuel cycle based on 232Th can substantially reduce the radiotoxicity of the produced nuclear waste since the lower atomic and mass number of thorium results in a strongly suppressed build‐up of the higher actinides and especially americium and curium. The design and realization of nuclear power stations based on the use of thorium, either in a critical or subcritical system, require an accurate knowledge of the 232Th(n,γ) reaction cross section. We have measured the neutron capture cross section of 232Th at the recently constructed neutron time‐of‐flight facility n_TOF at CERN in the energy range from 1 eV to 1 MeV. In the resolved resonance region, the resonance parameters have been extracted. In the unresolved resonance region, the neutron capture cross section is given as point‐wise data.