18F Reaction Research Articles

Educational activities with a tandem accelerator

Selected experiments in fundamental physics have been proposed for many years at the Tandem Accelerator of the University of Napoli ‘Federico II’s Department of Physics as a part of a one-semester laboratory course for graduate students. The aim of this paper is to highlight the educational value of the experimental realization of the nuclear reaction 19F(p,α)16O. With the purpose of verifying the mass–energy equivalence principle, different aspects of both classical and modern physics can be investigated, e.g. conservation laws, atomic models, nuclear physics applications to compositional analysis, nuclear cross-section, Q-value and nuclear spectroscopic analysis.

Towards an activation cross section measurement of the 17O(p,γ)18F reaction in a wide energy range

The CNO cycles are fusion processes in stars that convert hydrogen to helium. These hydrogen burning processes occur in several sites and stages of stellar evolution, such as red giants, asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, massive stars, and classical novae.One of the important reactions in the CNO-III and CNO-IV cycles is 17O(p,γ)18F [1]. The only available total cross section measurement in a wide energy range for this reaction dates back to several decades ago [2] which makes the theoretical extrapolation to astrophysical energies more difficult and introduces uncertainty.The aim of the present work is to provide precise total cross section data in the energy range between about 500 keV and the 2MeV using the activation method. The experimental campaign at the new tandetron accelerator of Atomki is in progress.

Measurement of 1323 and 1487 keV resonances inN15(α,γ)F19with the recoil separator ERNA

The origin of fluorine is a widely debated issue. Nevertheless, the ^{15}N({\alpha},{\gamma})^{19}F reaction is a common feature among the various production channels so far proposed. Its reaction rate at relevant temperatures is determined by a number of narrow resonances together with the DC component and the tails of the two broad resonances at E_{c.m.} = 1323 and 1487 keV. Measurement through the direct detection of the 19F recoil ions with the European Recoil separator for Nuclear Astrophysics (ERNA) were performed. The reaction was initiated by a 15N beam impinging onto a 4He windowless gas target. The observed yield of the resonances at Ec.m. = 1323 and 1487 keV is used to determine their widths in the {\alpha} and {\gamma} channels. We show that a direct measurement of the cross section of the ^{15}N({\alpha},{\gamma})^{19}F reaction can be successfully obtained with the Recoil Separator ERNA, and the widths {\Gamma}_{\gamma} and {\Gamma}_{\alpha} of the two broad resonances have been determined. While a fair agreement is found with earlier determination of the widths of the 1487 keV resonance, a significant difference is found for the 1323 keV resonance {\Gamma}_{\alpha} . The revision of the widths of the two more relevant broad resonances in the 15N({\alpha},{\gamma})19F reaction presented in this work is the first step toward a more firm determination of the reaction rate. At present, the residual uncertainty at the temperatures of the ^{19}F stellar nucleosynthesis is dominated by the uncertainties affecting the Direct Capture component and the 364 keV narrow resonance, both so far investigated only through indirect experiments.

Cyclotron production of F18 in TLD-500 and other new usage potentialities of anion-deficient corundum

Samples of standard TLD-500 detectors on the basis of anion-defective corundum (α-Al2O3-δ) were found to emit gamma radiation when irradiated with 5.7 MeV protons. The objective of this study was to identify the nature of the induced radioactivity assuming the 18O (p, n)18F reaction as highly probable and to study the prospects for its new practical applications.

Cross section measurement of the astrophysically important O17(p,γ)F18 reaction in a wide energy range

The 17O(p,g)18F reaction plays an important role in hydrogen burning processes in different stages of stellar evolution. The rate of this reaction must therefore be known with high accuracy in order to provide the necessary input for astrophysical models. The cross section of 17O(p,g)18F is characterized by a complicated resonance structure at low energies. Experimental data, however, is scarce in a wide energy range which increases the uncertainty of the low energy extrapolations. The purpose of the present work is therefore to provide consistent and precise cross section values in a wide energy range. The cross section is measured using the activation method which provides directly the total cross section. With this technique some typical systematic uncertainties encountered in in-beam gamma-spectroscopy experiments can be avoided. The cross section was measured between 500 keV and 1.8 MeV proton energies with a total uncertainty of typically 10%. The results are compared with earlier measurements and it is found that the gross features of the 17O(p,g)18F excitation function is relatively well reproduced by the present data. Deviation of roughly a factor of 1.5 is found in the case of the total cross section when compared with the only one high energy dataset. At the lowest measured energy our result is in agreement with two recent datasets within one standard deviation and deviates by roughly two standard deviations from a third one. An R-matrix analysis of the present and previous data strengthen the reliability of the extrapolated zero energy astrophysical S-factor. Using an independent experimental technique, the literature cross section data of 17O(p,g)18F is confirmed in the energy region of the resonances while lower direct capture cross section is recommended at higher energies. The present dataset provides a constraint for the theoretical cross sections.

Theoretical estimation of 64Cu production with neutrons emitted during 18F production with a 30 MeV medical cyclotron

PurposeThis work presents the theoretical estimation of a combined production of 18F and 64Cu isotopes for PET applications. 64Cu production is induced in a secondary target by neutrons emitted during a routine 18F production with a 30MeV cyclotron: protons are used to produce 18F by means of the 18O(p,n)18F reaction on a [18O]-H2O target (primary target) and the emitted neutrons are used to produce 64Cu by means of the 64Zn(n,p)64Cu reaction on enriched zinc target (secondary target). MethodsMonte Carlo simulations were carried out using Monte Carlo N Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code to evaluate flux and energy spectra of neutrons produced in the primary (Be+[18O]-H2O) target by protons and the attenuation of neutron flux in the secondary target. 64Cu yield was estimated using an analytical approach based on both TENDL-2015 data library and experimental data selected from EXFOR database. ResultsTheoretical evaluations indicate that about 3.8 MBq/μA of 64Cu can be obtained as a secondary, ‘side’ production with a 30MeV cyclotron, for 2h of irradiation of a proper designed zinc target. Irradiating for 2h with a proton current of 120 μA, a yield of about 457 MBq is expected. Moreover, the most relevant contaminants result to be 63,65Zn, which can be chemically separated from 64Cu contrarily to what happens with proton irradiation of an enriched 64Ni target, which provides 64Cu mixed to other copper isotopes as contaminants. ConclusionsThe theoretical study discussed in this paper evaluates the potential of the combined production of 18F and 64Cu for medical purposes, irradiating a properly designed target with 30MeV protons. Interesting yields of 64Cu are obtainable and the estimation of contaminants in the irradiated zinc target is discussed.

Determining the 14O(α,p)17F astrophysical rate from Measurements at TwinSol

The 14O(α,p)17F reaction is an important trigger reaction to the α-p process in X-ray bursts. The most stringent experimental constraints on its astrophysical rate come from measurements of the time-inverse reaction, 17F(p,α)14O. Previous studies of this inverse reaction have sufficiently characterized the high-energy dependence of the cross section but there are still significant uncertainties at lower energies. A new measurement of the 17F(p,α)14O cross section is underway at the Twin Solenoid (TwinSol) facility at the University of Notre Dame using an in-flight secondary 17F beam. The initial results are promising but improvements are needed to complete the measurement. The initial data and plans for an improved measurement are presented in this manuscript.

Source terms, shielding calculations and soil activation for a medical cyclotron

Calculations of the shielding and estimates of soil activation for a medical cyclotron are presented in this work. Based on the neutron source term from the 18O(p,n)18F reaction produced by a 28 MeV proton beam, neutron and gamma dose rates outside the building were estimated with the Monte Carlo code MCNP6 (Goorley et al 2012 Nucl. Technol. 180 298–315). The neutron source term was calculated with the MCNP6 code and FLUKA (Ferrari et al 2005 INFN/TC_05/11, SLAC-R-773) code as well as with supplied data by the manufacturer. MCNP and FLUKA calculations yielded comparable results, while the neutron yield obtained using the manufacturer-supplied information is about a factor of 5 smaller. The difference is attributed to the missing channels in the manufacturer-supplied neutron source terms which considers only the 18O(p,n)18F reaction, whereas the MCNP and FLUKA calculations include additional neutron reaction channels. Soil activation was performed using the FLUKA code.The estimated dose rate based on MCNP6 calculations in the public area is about 0.035 µSv h−1 and thus significantly below the reference value of 0.5 µSv h−1 (2011 Strahlenschutzverordnung, 9 Auflage vom 01.11.2011, Bundesanzeiger Verlag). After 5 years of continuous beam operation and a subsequent decay time of 30 d, the activity concentration of the soil is about 0.34 Bq g−1.

Cross sections for proton induced high energy [formula omitted]-ray emission (PIGE) in reaction [formula omitted]F(p,[formula omitted])[formula omitted]O at incident proton energies between 1.5 and 4 MeV

We have studied the high energy gamma-rays produced in the reaction 19F(p,αγ)16O for incident proton energies from 1.5 to 4.0MeV over NaF/Ag and CaF2/Ag thin targets in two different sets of data. Gamma-rays were detected with a High Purity Ge detector with an angle of 130° with respect to the beam axis. The cross-sections for the high energy gamma-rays of 6.129, 6.915 and 7.115MeV have been measured for the whole group between 5 and 7.2MeV with accuracy better than 10%. A new energy range was covered and more points are included in the cross-sections data base expanding the existing set of data. Results are in agreement with previous measurements in similar conditions.

γ-Ray spectroscopy using a binned likelihood approach

The measurement of a reaction cross section from a pulse height spectrum is a ubiquitous problem in experimental nuclear physics. In γ-ray spectroscopy, this is accomplished frequently by measuring the intensity of full-energy primary transition peaks and correcting the intensities for experimental artifacts, such as detection efficiencies and angular correlations. Implicit in this procedure is the assumption that full-energy peaks do not overlap with any secondary peaks, escape peaks, or environmental backgrounds. However, for complex γ-ray cascades, this is often not the case. Furthermore, this technique is difficult to adapt for coincidence spectroscopy, where intensities depend not only on the detection efficiency, but also the detailed decay scheme. We present a method that incorporates the intensities of the entire spectrum (e.g., primary and secondary transition peaks, escape peaks, Compton continua, etc.) into a statistical model, where the transition intensities and branching ratios can be determined using Bayesian statistical inference. This new method provides an elegant solution to the difficulties associated with analyzing coincidence spectra. We describe it in detail and examine its efficacy in the analysis of 18O(p,γ)19F and 25Mg(p,γ)26Al resonance data. For the 18O(p,γ)19F reaction, the measured branching ratios improve upon the literature values, with a factor of 3 reduction in the uncertainties.

New developments of 11C post-accelerated beams for hadron therapy and imaging

Hadron therapy was first proposed in 1946 and is by now widespread throughout the world, as witnessed with the design and construction of the CNAO, HIT, PROSCAN and MedAustron treatment centres, among others. The clinical interest in hadron therapy lies in the fact that it delivers precision treatment of tumours, exploiting the characteristic shape (the Bragg peak) of the energy deposition in the tissues for charged hadrons. In particular, carbon ion therapy is found to be biologically more effective, with respect to protons, on certain types of tumours. Following an approach tested at NIRS in Japan [1], carbon ion therapy treatments based on 12C could be combined or fully replaced with 11C PET radioactive ions post-accelerated to the same energy. This approach allows providing a beam for treatment and, at the same time, to collect information on the 3D distributions of the implanted ions by PET imaging. The production of 11C ion beams can be performed using two methods. A first one is based on the production using compact PET cyclotrons with 10–20MeV protons via 14N(p,α)11C reactions following an approach developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [2]. A second route exploits spallation reactions 19F(p,X)11C and 23Na(p,X)11C on a molten fluoride salt target using the ISOL (isotope separation on-line) technique [3]. This approach can be seriously envisaged at CERN-ISOLDE following recent progresses made on 11C+ production [4] and proven post-acceleration of pure 10C3/6+ beams in the REX-ISOLDE linac [5]. Part of the required components is operational in radioactive ion beam facilities or commercial medical PET cyclotrons. The driver could be a 70MeV, 1.2mA proton commercial cyclotron, which would lead to 8.1×10711C6+ per spill. This intensity is appropriate using 11C ions alone for both imaging and treatment. Here we report on the ongoing feasibility studies of such approach, using the Monte Carlo particle transport code FLUKA [6,7] to simulate pristine Bragg Peaks of 11C, in order to compare its performance with 12C, in the context of hadron therapy.

A proposed direct measurement of cross section at Gamow window for key reaction 19F(p,α) 16O in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars with a planned accelerator in CJPL

In 2014, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) approved the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics laboratory (JUNA) project, which aims at direct cross-section measurements of four key stellar nuclear reactions right down to the Gamow windows. In order to solve the observed fluorine overabundances in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, measuring the key $^{19}$F($p$,$\alpha$)$^{16}$O reaction at effective burning energies (i.e., at Gamow window) is established as one of the scientific research sub-projects. The present paper describes this sub-project in details, including motivation, status, experimental setup, yield and background estimation, aboveground test, as well as other relevant reactions.

Compact DD generator-based neutron activation analysis (NAA) system to determine fluorine in human bone in vivo: a feasibility study

The subject of whether fluorine (F) is detrimental to human health has been controversial for many years. Much of the discussion focuses on the known benefits and detriments to dental care and problems that F causes in bone structure at high doses. It is therefore advantageous to have the means to monitor F concentrations in the human body as a method to directly assess exposure. F accumulates in the skeleton making bone a useful biomarker to assess long term cumulative exposure to F. This study presents work in the development of a non-invasive method for the monitoring of F in human bone. The work was based on the technique of in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA). A compact deuterium-deuterium (DD) generator was used to produce neutrons. A moderator/reflector/shielding assembly was designed and built for human hand irradiation. The gamma rays emitted through the 19F(n,γ)20F reaction were measured using a HPGe detector. This study was undertaken to (i) find the feasibility of using DD system to determine F in human bone, (ii) estimate the F minimum detection limit (MDL), and (iii) optimize the system using the Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code in order to improve the MDL of the system. The F MDL was found to be 0.54 g experimentally with a neutron flux of 7 × 108 n s−1 and an optimized irradiation, decay, and measurement time scheme. The numbers of F counts from the experiment were found to be close to the (MCNPX) simulation results with the same irradiation and detection parameters. The equivalent dose to the irradiated hand and the effective dose to the whole body were found to be 0.9 mSv and 0.33 μSv, respectively. Based on these results, it is feasible to develop a compact DD generator based IVNAA system to measure bone F in a population with moderate to high F exposure.

Dynamical features of nuclear fission

It is now established that the transition-state theory of nuclear fission due to Bohr and Wheeler underestimates several observables in heavy-ion-induced fusion–fission reactions. Dissipative dynamical models employing either the Langevin equation or equivalently the Fokker–Planck equation have been developed for fission of heavy nuclei at high excitations (T∼1 MeV or higher). Here, we first present the physical picture underlying the dissipative fission dynamics. We mainly concentrate upon the Kramers’ prescription for including dissipation in fission dynamics. We discuss, in some detail, the results of a statistical model analysis of the pre-scission neutron multiplicity data from the reactions 19F+194,196,198Pt using Kramers’ fission width. We also discuss the multidimensional Langevin equation in the context of kinetic energy and mass distribution of the fission fragments.

Comments on extracting the resonance strength parameter from yield data

The F(α,n) reaction is the focus of on-going research in part because it is an important source of neutrons in the nuclear fuel cycle which can be exploited to assay nuclear materials, especially uranium in the form of UF6 [1,2]. At the present time there remains some considerable uncertainty (of the order of ±20%) in the thick target integrated over angle (α,n) yield from 19F (100% natural abundance) and its compounds as discussed in [3,4]. An important thin target cross-section measurement is that of Wrean and Kavanagh [5] who explore the region from below threshold (2.36MeV) to approximately 3.1MeV with fine energy resolution. Integration of their cross-section data over the slowing down history of a stopping α-particle allows the thick target yield to be calculated for incident energies up to 3.1MeV. This trend can then be combined with data from other sources to obtain a thick target yield curve over the wider range of interest to the fuel cycle (roughly threshold to 10MeV to include all relevant α-emitters). To estimate the thickness of the CaF2 target they used, Wrean and Kavanagh separately measured the integrated yield of the 6.129MeV γ-rays from the resonance at 340.5keV (laboratory α-particle kinetic energy) in the 19F(p,αγ) reaction. To interpret the data they adopted a resonance strength parameter of (22.3±0.8)eV based on a determination by Becker et al [6]. The value and its uncertainty directly affects the thickness estimate and the extracted (α,n) cross-section values. In their citation to Becker et al׳s work, Wrean and Kavanagh comment that they did not make use of an alternative value of (23.7±1.0)eV reported by Croft [7] because they were unable to reproduce the value from the data given in that paper. The value they calculated for the resonance strength from the thick target yield given by Croft was 21.4eV.The purpose of this communication is to revisit the paper by Croft published in this journal and specifically to explain the origin of the reported resonance strength. Fortunately the original notes spanning the period 12 January 1988 to 16 January 1990 were available to consult. In hindsight there is certainly a case of excessive brevity to rectify. In essence the step requiring explanation is how to compute the resonance strength, ωγ, from the reported thick target resonance yield Y.

19F(α,n) thick target yield from 3.5 to 10.0 MeV

Using a target of PbF2, the thick-target yield from the 19F(α,n) reaction was measured from Eα=3.5–10MeV. From these results, we infer the thick-target neutron yields from targets of F2 and UF6 over this same alpha-particle energy range.

Indirect method to measure differential cross-sections for nuclear reaction analysis

Accurate knowledge of differential cross-sections is essential for studying concentrations of light elements in heavy substrates by nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). In this paper we present an indirect method of determining excitation functions of NRA taking the nuclear reaction 19F(p,α0)16O as an example. The methodology is demonstrated in detail for a backscattering angle of 150° using a bulk CaF2 sample and proton beam energies of 1335, 1535, 1735 and 1935keV. The differential cross section is directly extracted from the yield of backscattered reaction particles for an energy range of 800–1900keV. To validate the procedure, a further fluorine-containing sample (NaF) was measured for comparison. The method was additionally applied to backscattering angles of 90° and 170°. The results obtained were compared with known data found in literature and a good agreement is observed. The approach presented here offers the possibility for measuring the excitation functions in a simple manner for individual measurement configurations. The method can be applied if the detected reaction particles have larger energies than particles that are elastically backscattered from the heavy matrix and if the cross section does not exhibit a fine structure with a width of the resonances which is below the energy uncertainty caused by detector resolution and energy straggling.

Study of Nuclear Structure of 13C and 20Ne by Low Energy Nuclear Reactions

We report some recent experimental results on the spectroscopy of 13C and 20Ne nuclei by means of low energy nuclear reactions carried out with high resolution electrostatic accelerators. In the case of 13C we investigated the possible existence of a-cluster states above the a emission threshold by means of low energy elastic resonant scattering α+9Be in direct kinematics. Excitation functions show the presence of various resonances that have been reproduced by R-matrix fit. We studied also the structure of 20Ne by means of the 19F(p,α0) reaction at sub-barrier energies. The spectroscopy of 20Ne excited states in the region Ex ≈ 13.5-14.0 MeV can be probed by analyzing experimental angular distributions and excitation functions. This reaction plays an important role also in the CNOF cycle and is an important ingredient to describe hydrogen-induced destruction of fluorine in massive stars. For this reason we investigated the trend of S-factor, that has been compared with results previously reported in the literature.

Measurements of proton induced γ-ray emission cross sections on MgF2 target in the energy range 1.95–3.05 MeV

In this work we present differential cross sections for γ-ray emission from the reactions 19F(p,p′γ)19F (Eγ=110, 197, 1236 and 1349+1357keV), 24Mg(p,p′γ)24Mg (Eγ=1369keV) and 25Mg(p,p′γ)25Mg (Eγ=390, 585 and 975keV). Differential cross sections were measured for proton energies from 1.95 to 3.05MeV with a 15keV step and beam energy resolution of 0.06%. Thin reference standard, 54.1μg/cm2 of MgF2 deposited on thin Mylar foil with additionally evaporated 4nm Au layer, was used as a target. The γ-rays were detected by a 20% relative efficiency HPGe detector placed at an angle of 135° with respect to the beam direction, while the backscattered protons were collected using silicon surface barrier detector placed at the scattering angle of 165°. Obtained cross sections were compared with the previously measured data available from the literature.

The 19F(p, α0) reaction at low bombarding energy

In a recent experiment performed in Naples by using the TTT-3 tandem accelerator, the 19F(p, α0) reaction has been investigated at low bombarding energies, Ep = 0.6–1 MeV. Excitation functions and angular distributions have been obtained by using several solid state detectors preceded by thin aluminium absorbers. By analysing angular distributions in terms of Legendre and cosine polynomials, a few spectroscopic ambiguities concerning the excited states of the compound nucleus, 20Ne, in the excitation energy region E* = 13.4–13.8 MeV, have been solved. Moreover, this reaction plays an important role for the description of the fluorine nucleosynthesis. For this reason, the astrophysical S-factor has also been extracted and the results have been compared with the literature data.