Measurements of thermal-neutron capture cross-section of Cesium-135 by applying mass spectrometry

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe thermal-neutron capture cross-section (σ0) and resonance integral (I0) were measured for the 135Cs(n,γ)136Cs reaction by an activation method and mass spectrometry. Because of difficulty in the preparation of pure 135Cs samples, we used 135Cs contained as an impurity in a normally available 137Cs standard solution. An isotope ratio of 135Cs and 137Cs in a standard 137Cs solution was measured by mass spectrometry to quantify 135Cs. Cesium-135 impurity along with the 137Cs standard solution was irradiated at the hydraulic conveyer of the research reactor in the Institute for Integral Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University. Wires of Co/Al and Au/Al alloys were used as neutron monitors to measure thermal-neutron fluxes and epi-thermal Westcott’s indices at an irradiation position. A gadolinium filter was used to measure the σ0, and a value of 0.133 eV was taken as the cut-off energy. Gamma-ray spectroscopy was used to measure induced activities of 137Cs, 136Cs and monitor wires. On the basis of Westcott’s convention, the σ0 and I0 values were derived as 8.57 ± 0.25 barn, and 45.3 ± 3.2 barn, respectively. The value of σ0 obtained in the present study agreed within the limits of uncertainties with the past-reported value of 8.3 ± 0.3 barn.