Thick Target Neutron Yield by Heavy Ions

Abstract

This paper describes the systematics study of the thick target neutron yield by light and heavy ions. Measurements of neutron yield data were made for combinations of thick targets (C, Al, Cu, Pb) and projectiles (40-MeV α, 120-MeV 12C, 153-MeV 16O). Obtained neutron angular spectra together with those in previous works (30- and 52-MeV p, 65-MeV α) were analyzed by the moving source model. Through the consideration on the nuclear temperature, it was found that the multiplicity of equilibrium neutrons was proportional to the target mass number. Using this fact, a simple expression for the systematics of equilibrium neutron yield was derived. For the nonequilibrium component, the neutron yield was proportional to the geometrical cross section. The threshold for the nonequilibrium neutron production affected the yield for low energy projectiles.Keywordsheavy ionneutron yieldthick targetneutron productionequilibrium neutronsnonequilibrium neutronsmoving source model