The polarization and differential cross section of fast neutrons scattered from 6Li and an R-function analysis of the interaction below 4 MeV

Abstract

The analyzing power of 6Li for the elastic scattering of polarized neutrons with energies between 2 and 4 MeV, has been measured at six angles ranging from 25° to 150°. The polarized neutrons were generated from the reactions Pb(γ, n) and 12C(n, n ), and their polarization was measured using the double-scattering method. The neutron energies were determined with a nanosecond timeof-flight spectrometer. In addition, the differential cross section was measured at three angles in the same energy range; the cross section was determined relative to the well-known n- 12C cross section. The present results have been combined with existing data for the neutron total, (n, α), and differential elastic cross sections, in a reduced R-function analysis. Clear evidence of a p-wave triplet of shellmodel states emerges from the analysis.