Abstract
The neutron capture reactions of the 244Cm and 246Cm isotopes open the path for the formation of heavier Cm isotopes and heavier elements such as Bk and Cf in a nuclear reactor. In addition, both isotopes belong to the minor actinides with a large contribution to the decay heat and to the neutron emission in irradiated fuels. There are only two previous 244Cm and 246Cm capture cross section measurements: one in 1969 using a nuclear explosion [1] and the most recent data measured at J-PARC in 2010 [2]. The data for both isotopes are very scarce due to the difficulties in performing the measurements: high intrinsic activity of the samples and limited facilities capable of providing isotopically enriched samples. We have measured both neutron capture cross sections at the n_TOF Experimental Area 2 (EAR-2) with three C6 D6 detectors and also at Area 1 (EAR-1) with the TAC. Preliminary results assessing the quality and limitations (back-ground subtraction, measurement technique and counting statistics) of this new experimental datasets are presented and discussed.
Highlights
The scarcity of the available data and the many experimental challenges involved in the two previous measurements motivated an additional measurement under different conditions, i.e., in a different facility, with different detectors and monitors and with a different methodology
Both yields are presented in Figure 3 together with the yields obtained from the JEFF-3.3 [13] cross sections with the experimental background and the characteristics of the Experimental Area 2 (EAR-2) neutron beam[14]
The measurement in EAR-1 was performed with the Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC), which is an array of 40 BaF2 crystals designed to detect the full capture γ-ray cascades
Summary
Even after three years of cooling, 244Cm shares nearly 50% of the total actinide decay heat in irradiated reactor fuels with a high burnup Both of them are in the path of the creation of any heavier Cm isotopes and heavier elements like Bk and Cf. Only two previous capture measurements were done before the n_TOF measurements. The measurement in EAR-2 has been done with three C6D6 detectors and the Total Energy Detection (TED) [6] technique, and the measurement in EAR-1 with the n_TOF Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC) [7], designed to detect the complete γ-ray cascade Measuring in both experimental areas with different detectors and techniques will allow to crosscheck results and, presumably, to reduce the final uncertainties.
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