Neutron Radiative Capture Cross Section of 232Th in the Energy Range from 0.06 to 2 MeV

Abstract

The neutron capture cross section of 232Th has been measured relative to σ(n, γ) for 197Au and σ(n,f) for 235U in the energy range from 60 keV to 2 MeV. Neutrons were produced by the 7Li(p,n) and T(p,n) reactions at the 4-MV Van de Graaff Accelerator of CEN Bordeaux-Gradignan. The activation technique was used, and the cross section was measured relative to the 197Au(n,γ) standard cross section up to 1 MeV. The characteristic gamma lines of the product nuclei 233Pa and 198Au were measured with a 40% high-purity germanium detector. Above this energy, the reaction 235U(n,f) was also used as a second standard, and the fission fragments were detected with a photovoltaic cell. The results, after applying the appropriate corrections, indicate that the cross sections are close to the JENDL-3 database values up to 800 keV and over 1.4 MeV. For energies in the intermediate range, our values are slightly lower than those from all the libraries.