MeV Energy Range Research Articles

Comparison of Monte Carlo simulations and theoretical calculations of nuclear shielding characteristics of various borate glasses including Bi, V, Fe, and Cd

The aim of this study is to evaluate both buildup factors and photon attenuation effectiveness of some borate glasses doped by Cd, Fe, V, and Bi. The mass attenuation coefficients (μm) of these glass systems have been calculated via MCNP6 and GEANT4 computer simulation codes over 0.02–10 MeV energy range and compared with the theoretical results of WinXCOM program. And then, half-value layer, (HVL), mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (Zeff) for the different content based glasses have been determined. Through G-P fitting process, exposure buildup factors (EBF) have been found in the energy range of 0.015–15 MeV up to 40 mfp. It can be concluded that SrBiO20 glass is alternative material in terms of photon attenuation, respectively.

Evidence of fast neutron detection capability of the CLLB scintillation detector

For the first time we report the ability of the CLLB scintillator to detect and discriminate fast neutrons (2–10 MeV energy range) from gamma-rays and thermal neutrons, using a digital pulse shape discrimination technique. Firstly, we conducted measurements in single mode with an Am–Be source, unshielded and shielded, and we tagged a new cluster of events as the fast neutron-induced zone. The Figure of Merit obtained for the fast neutron/gamma discrimination was 1.1. Then, in order to better characterize these new cluster of events induced by fast neutrons, we conducted measurements in coincidence mode. We used a mono-energetic pulsed neutron source, at the Van de Graaff accelerator facility at the Legnaro National Laboratories (INFN-LNL, Legnaro-Italy), and also, a continuous neutron spectrum (using a 252Cf source). Combining all experimental results with a Monte Carlo model of the CLLB detector, built using the GEANT4 tool kit, it was possible to obtain the light output function of 7Li ions in the CLLB crystal (dL/dE = κ; κ = 0.36 ± 0.02). Moreover, the intrinsic fast neutron efficiency was modeled by Monte Carlo, obtaining similar values 1.5%–2% for neutrons between 2 MeV and 10 MeV. Finally, an application of this new feature, in the field of nuclear security and nuclear safeguards, is given.

Electron and Positron Scattering from Precious Metal Atoms in the eV to MeV Energy Range

This article reports on the scattering of unpolarized and spin polarized electrons and positrons from 28Ni58,29Cu63,46Pd108, and 78Pt196, covering light to heavy precious metal targets. To cover the wide energy domain of 1 eV ≤Ei≤300 MeV, Dirac partial-wave phase-shift analysis is employed, using a complex optical potential for Ei≤1 MeV and a potential derived from the nuclear charge distribution for Ei>1 MeV. Results are presented for the differential and integral cross-sections, including elastic, momentum transfer, and viscosity cross-sections. In addition, the inelastic, ionization, and total (elastic + inelastic) cross-section results are provided, together with mean free path estimates. Moreover, the polarization correlations S,T, and U, which are sensitive to phase-dependent interference effects, are considered. Scaling laws with respect to collision energy, scattering angle, and nuclear charge number at ultrahigh energies are derived using the equivalence between elastic scattering and tip bremsstrahlung emission. In addition, a systematic analysis of the critical minima in the differential cross-section and the corresponding total polarization points in the Sherman function S is carried out. A comparison with existing experimental data and other theoretical findings is made in order to test the merit of the present approach in explaining details of the measurements.

Exploring the MeV sky with a combined coded mask and Compton telescope: the Galactic Explorer with a Coded aperture mask Compton telescope (GECCO)

The sky at MeV energies is currently poorly explored. Here we present an innovative mission concept that builds upon the heritage of past and current missions improving the sensitivity and, very importantly, the angular resolution. This consists in combining a Compton telescope and a coded-mask telescope. We delineate the motivation for such a concept and we define the scientific goals for such a mission.The Galactic Explorer with a Coded Aperture Mask Compton Telescope (GECCO) is a novel concept for a next-generation telescope covering hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray energies.The potential and importance of this approach that bridges the observational gap in the MeV energy range are presented.With the unprecedented angular resolution of the coded mask telescope combined with the sensitive Compton telescope, a mission such as GECCO can disentangle the discrete sources from the truly diffuse emission. Individual Galactic and extragalactic sources are detected. This also allows to understand the gamma-ray Galactic center excess and the Fermi Bubbles, and to trace the low-energy cosmic rays, and their propagation in the Galaxy. Nuclear and annihilation lines are spatially and spectrally resolved from the continuum emission and from sources, addressing the role of low-energy cosmic rays in star formation and galaxy evolution, the origin of the 511 keV positron line, fundamental physics, and the chemical enrichment in the Galaxy. Such an instrument also detects explosive transient gamma-ray sources, which, in turn, enables identifying and studying the astrophysical objects that produce gravitational waves and neutrinos in a multi-messenger context. By looking at a poorly explored energy band it also allows discoveries of new astrophysical phenomena.

Improving INTEGRAL/SPI data analysis of GRBs

The spectrometer on the international gamma-ray astrophysics laboratory (INTEGRAL/SPI) is a coded mask instrument observing since 2002 in the keV to MeV energy range, which covers the peak of the νFν spectrum of most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Since its launch in 2008, the gamma-ray burst monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi satellite has been the primary instrument for analysing GRBs in the energy range between ≈10 keV and ≈10 MeV. Here, we show that the spectrometer on board INTEGRAL, named ‘SPI’, which covers a similar energy range, can give equivalently constraining results for some parameters if we use an advanced analysis method. Also, combining the data of both instruments reduces the allowed parameter space in spectral fits. The main advantage of SPI over GBM is the energy resolution of ≈0.2% at 1.3 MeV compared to ≈10% for GBM. Therefore, SPI is an ideal instrument for precisely measuring the curvature of the spectrum. This is important, as it has been shown in recent years that physical models rather than heuristic functions should be fit to GRB data to obtain better insights into their still unknown emission mechanism, and the curvature of the peak is unique to the different physical models. To fit physical models to SPI GRB data and get the maximal amount of information from the data, we developed new open-source analysis software, PySPI. We apply these new techniques to GRB 120711A in order to validate and showcase the capabilities of this software. We show that PySPI improves the analysis of SPI GRB data compared to the INTEGRAL off-line scientific analysis software (OSA). In addition, we demonstrate that the GBM and the SPI data for this particular GRB can be fitted well with a physical synchrotron model. This demonstrates that SPI can play an important role in GRB spectral model fitting.

AGILE Observations of GRB 220101A: A “New Year's Burst” with an Exceptionally Huge Energy Release

We report the AGILE observations of GRB 220101A, which took place at the beginning of 2022 January 1 and was recognized as one of the most energetic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) ever detected since their discovery. The AGILE satellite acquired interesting data concerning the prompt phase of this burst, providing an overall temporal and spectral description of the event in a wide energy range, from tens of kiloelectronvolts to tens of megaelectronvolts. Dividing the prompt emission into three main intervals, we notice an interesting spectral evolution, featuring a notable hardening of the spectrum in the central part of the burst. The average fluxes encountered in the different time intervals are relatively moderate, with respect to those of other remarkable bursts, and the overall fluence exhibits a quite ordinary value among the GRBs detected by MCAL. However, GRB 220101A is the second farthest event detected by AGILE, and the burst with the highest isotropic equivalent energy of the entire MCAL GRB sample, releasing E iso = 2.54 × 1054 erg and exhibiting an isotropic luminosity of L iso = 2.34 × 1052 erg s−1 (both in the 400 keV–10 MeV energy range). We also analyzed the first 106 s of the afterglow phase, using the publicly available Swift-XRT data, carrying out a theoretical analysis of the afterglow, based on the forward shock model. We notice that GRB 220101A is with high probability surrounded by a wind-like density medium, and that the energy carried by the initial shock shall be a fraction of the total E iso, presumably near ∼50%.

Charge collection efficiency of scCVD diamond detectors at low temperatures

The charge collection efficiency (CCE) in electronic grade, single crystal chemical vapor deposition (scCVD) diamond detector was studied using different ions of the MeV energy range from room temperature down to 47 K. The measurements were performed by using the ion beam induced charge (IBIC) technique, with 0.8 MeV H+, 3 MeV He2+, 5.6 MeV Li2+, and 12.8 MeV C4+ ion beams. The total accumulated charge as a function of temperature was extracted from the measured pulse height spectra. A similar decreasing trend of the detector CCE with temperature was observed for all ion species. A plateau was observed from room temperature to 145 K followed by a sharp, step like, decrease in the temperature range of 65 K < T < 145 K. Below 65 K, the CCE reaches another plateau with small variations down to 47 K. The decrease in collected charge was observed in the same temperature window for each ion. However, the level of the CCE decrease varied. For He, Li and C, the CCE decreased to 24.7 ± 0.4 %, 23.6 ± 1.3 %, 25.9 ± 0.8 % respectively while 39.3 ± 0.8 % for H. The reduction of the CCE is in agreement with earlier reported results obtained by alpha particles which was associated with the changes in lifetime of excitons in diamond.

Synthesis of transparent binary germanate glasses and determination of their shielding performance against the gamma radiation

ABSTRACT In this study, we synthesized binary germanate glasses with compositions of GeO2 – Bi2O3, GeO2 – PbF2, and GeO2 – V2O5. The traditional melt-quenching method was used for glass synthesis. The radiation shielding properties of the synthesized samples were calculated theoretically and measured experimentally as well. A narrow-beam transmission geometry, which uses a NaI(Tl) detector, was employed to measure linear attenuation coefficient, mass attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, and effective atomic number values of the glasses at gamma-ray energies of 662, 1173, and 1332 keV and, 137Cs, and 60Co radioactive point sources were used to produce gamma-ray photons of these energies. Additionally, all the above parameters were also calculated theoretically using the WinXCOM software in the 0.015-15 MeV energy range to confirm the accuracy of the measurements. A good agreement between theoretical and experimental findings was observed. It was also found that the increase in the concentrations of Bi2O3, PbF2, and V2O5 network modifiers improved the radiation shielding capacity of synthesized germanate glasses. The results revealed that the GeBi30 glass has superior shielding properties among the synthesized germanate glasses.

Charged-particle emission in neutron reactions on B10

The $^{10}\mathrm{B}+n$ system has been studied by measuring charged particles from neutron-induced reactions in the 1 to 20 MeV energy range. Protons, deuterons, tritons, and $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles were measured at four angles using the pulsed white neutron spectrum at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center Weapons Neutron Research facility. Differential cross sections for each species are reported. These new data are combined with literature data in an $R$-matrix analysis of the $^{11}\mathrm{B}$ compound system. A comparison is made to the molecular and cluster states candidates observed in these reactions.

Ion Microbeam Studies of Charge Transport in Semiconductor Radiation Detectors With Three-Dimensional Structures: An Example of LGAD

The development of semiconductor detectors with an increased tolerance to high radiation levels often results in devices that deviate significantly from those of the classical design with planar electrodes. Decreasing the charge drift distance and/or introducing localised charge multiplication volumes are two detector development strategies that are often used in an attempt to increase the device radiation hardness. However, such approaches result in a more complex three-dimensional distribution of electrodes and sensitive detector volumes, which presents a challenge for the microscopic characterisation of charge transport properties. IBIC (ion beam-induced charge) is one of the available microscopic characterisation techniques that utilises focused, MeV energy range ions to probe charge transport. Here we used IBIC to probe different detector depths by varying the ion energy and/or angle of incidence and to probe certain detector regions by ions of the same range but with different stopping powers. These investigations are particularly important for studying low gain avalanche diode (LGAD) detectors, where measured interpad distances change with proton energy and where an increased carrier density results in changes in the charge multiplication, which are studied in this work.

Absolute calibration of Fujifilm BAS-TR image plate response to laser driven protons up to 40 MeV.

Image plates (IPs) are a popular detector in the field of laser driven ion acceleration, owing to their high dynamic range and reusability. An absolute calibration of these detectors to laser-driven protons in the routinely produced tens of MeV energy range is, therefore, essential. In this paper, the response of Fujifilm BAS-TR IPs to 1-40MeV protons is calibrated by employing the detectors in high resolution Thomson parabola spectrometers in conjunction with a CR-39 nuclear track detector to determine absolute proton numbers. While CR-39 was placed in front of the image plate for lower energy protons, it was placed behind the image plate for energies above 10MeV using suitable metal filters sandwiched between the image plate and CR-39 to select specific energies. The measured response agrees well with previously reported calibrations as well as standard models of IP response, providing, for the first time, an absolute calibration over a large range of proton energies of relevance to current experiments.

Gamma-response characterization of a solution-grown stilbene based detector assembly in the 59 keV–4.44 MeV energy range; an alternative low-resolution gamma spectrometer

The photon response characterization of a Ø 25.4 mm × 25.4 mm solution-grown stilbene based detector assembly was performed in the 59 keV–4.44 MeV energy range. Energy calibration was carried out using not only direct measurements but also via coincidence measurements in order to obtain more reliable results. Both methods gave consistent results. To establish an accurate model of the detector, its energy resolution was determined and included in MCNPX-PoliMi simulations. This model served to compute the gamma-response matrix in the 0.1–7.3 MeV energy range. This matrix was used as an input of the GRAVEL spectrum unfolding code when attempting to unfold the measured spectra of well-known sources. Despite a few discrepancies concerning peak intensities, the main gamma peaks were successfully identified in the 0.059–4.4 MeV energy range, thus confirming the utility of solution-grown stilbene as a low-resolution gamma spectrometer, especially for identifying the gamma component in neutron fields.

Are tungsten-based nuclear fusion components truly invisible to x-ray inspection?

The ability to detect undesired volumetric defects in reactor components could affect the safety and reliability of a fusion power plant and change the expected lifetime and performance of the reactor. This is even more true for critical reactor parts like plasma-facing components (PFCs) which have to withstand challenging in-vessel conditions due to a combination of plasma bombardment, radiation, and nuclear heating. The structural integrity of these components prior to their installation in a nuclear fusion reactor needs to be assessed non-destructively. Until now, industrial x-ray radiography and tomography have not been used to non-destructively inspect fusion components due to their lack of penetration power into dense material such as tungsten which is often used to manufacture PFCs. However, aiming to revert this consolidated belief, we have demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of assessing volumetric defects non-destructively on DEMO divertor mock-up by means of MeV energy range x-ray tomography. The authors believe that the application of this technology could be easily extended for inspecting large fusion components and positively impact procedures to be followed in the qualification of fusion components for current and future nuclear reactors.

New results on protons inside the South Atlantic Anomaly, at energies between 40 and 250 MeV in the period 2018–2020, from the CSES-01 satellite mission

The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01) was launched in February 2018, with a foreseen mission lifetime of over 5 years. It is providing crucial new insight in the physical dynamics of the radiation belts in the Earth’s magnetosphere, in particular in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). In this work, proton data from HEPD in the 40 MeV–250 MeV energy range, collected inside the SAA during the period between August 2018 and December 2020, are presented and compared with the up-to-date AP9 model by NASA. These are the first results on SAA protons at Low-Earth Orbit during the minimum activity phase between the 24th and the 25th solar cycles below 250 MeV. They enable an extensive testing and validation of current theoretical and empirical models aimed at predictions of temporal changes in this critical region of space. HEPD is advancing the observations collected by the PAMELA space experiment and NASA Van Allen Probe during the last 15 years through the 23rd and 24th solar cycles.Received 9 June 2021Accepted 14 January 2022Corrected 7 July 2022Corrected 29 March 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.105.062001© 2022 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasCosmic rays & astroparticlesSpace scienceSpace weatherInterdisciplinary Physics

Transmission Factor (TF) Behavior of Bi2O3–TeO2–Na2O–TiO2–ZnO Glass System: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

The main objective of the present work was to assess the gamma radiation shielding competencies and gamma radiation transmission factors (TFs) for some tellurite glasses in the form of Bi2O3–TeO2–Na2O–TiO2–ZnO. MCNPX general-purpose Monte Carlo code (version 2.6.0) was utilized for the determination of TF values at various well-known radioisotope energies for different glass thicknesses from 0.5 cm to 3 cm. Moreover, some important gamma ray shielding properties were also determined in the 0.015–15 MeV energy range. The results show that glass densities were improved from 5.401 g/cm3 to 6.138 g·cm3 as a function of Bi2O3 increment in the glass composition. A S5 glass sample with the maximum Bi2O3 additive was reported with superior gamma ray shielding properties among the studied glasses. It can be concluded that Bi2O3 can be used as a functional tool in terms of improving glass density and, accordingly, gamma ray shielding attenuation properties of tellurite glasses, where the role Bi2O3 is also critical for other material properties, such as structural, optical, and mechanical.

Specific features of capture reactions of real and virtual α-particles by 6Li and 7Li isotopes

The article examines the features of the interaction of virtual and real α-particles with isotopes 6Li and 7Li with the formation of the ground and excited states of 10B and 11B nuclei. The multiparticle shell model is used to describe the structures of nuclei. The significant difference in the excitation spectra of 10B and 11B nuclei in the capture of real and virtual α-particles is explained by the structural features of these nuclei and different mechanisms of capture of α-particles. Real α-particles are captured in reactions (α, γ), and virtual ones - in lithium cluster transfer reactions. In both boron isotopes, the first decay channel is the α-particle, then there is an energy range of several MeV until the next decay channel with the emission of particles. Moreover, in this energy range, the S-factors are anomalously small. If the excited levels lie above the threshold for the breakup of the nucleus with the emission of certain particles a, then the S-factors turn out to be related to the partial widths of the decay Га. In contrast to spectroscopic factors, which do not depend on energy and are determined only by the structure of the initial and final states, the partial Γ-widths depend on the energy which the particles are emitted with. It is shown that, in a narrow energy range from the first threshold for the emission of particles to the second threshold, the cross sections for the excitation of residual nuclei by real and virtual α-particles differ significantly. Narrow beams of γ-quanta formed with large cross sections in reactions of radiative α-capture can be used for diagnostics of thermonuclear plasma.

G4SEE: A Geant4-Based Single Event Effect Simulation Toolkit and Its Validation Through Monoenergetic Neutron Measurements

A single-event effect (SEE) simulation toolkit has been developed at CERN for the whole radiation effects community and released as an open-source code. It has been validated by comparing the simulated energy deposition of inelastic interactions, due to monoenergetic neutrons in the 1.2–17 MeV energy range, to the distribution measured experimentally by a silicon diode detector.

Modeling and simulations of ultra-intense laser-driven bremsstrahlung with double-layer targets

High-energy bremsstrahlung emission can occur owing to electron scattering in the nuclei or ions Coulomb field following the relativistic-electron generation in high-intensity laser interaction with plasmas. Such emission of photons in the keV–MeV energy range is of interest to characterize the relativistic-electron populations and develop laser-based photons sources. Even if it is a well-established and widely studied emission process, its modeling in laser-plasma scenarios needs further investigation. Moreover, advanced near-critical double-layer targets (DLTs), consisting in a low-density foam deposited on a thin solid substrate, have never been explored extensively for bremsstrahlung photon emission. Therefore, in this paper, we show the rationale, advantages, limitations, application regime, and complementarity of different modeling approaches and apply them to the unconventional configuration based on DLTs. We use multi-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations coupled with a Monte Carlo strategy to simulate bremsstrahlung in two ways: integrated into the PIC loop itself or after the simulation with two separate codes. We also use simplified semi-analytical relations to retrieve the photon properties starting only from information on the relativistic electrons. With these tools, we investigate bremsstrahlung emission when an ultra-intense laser (0.8 µm wavelength, 30 fs duration, and 3 µm waist) interacts with DLTs having different properties. Despite some limitations of the numerical tools, we find that all approaches significantly agree on the characteristics of ~1–100 MeV photon emission. This points to the possibility of adopting the different modeling approaches in a complementary way while at the same time identifying the best suited for a specific scenario. Regardless, DLTs appear to overall boost the high energy photon emission while at the same time enabling control of the emission itself.

Galaxies lacking dark matter produced by close encounters in a cosmological simulation

Electrons accelerated on Earth by a rich variety of wave scattering or stochastic processes generate hard non-thermal X-ray bremsstrahlung up to >~ 1 MeV and power Earth's various types of aurorae. Although Jupiter's magnetic field is an order of magnitude larger than Earth's, space-based telescopes have previously detected X-rays only up to ~7 keV. On the basis of theoretical models of the Jovian auroral X-ray production, X-ray emission in the ~2-7 keV band has been interpreted as thermal (arising from electrons characterized by a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution) bremsstrahlung. Here we report the observation of hard X-rays in the 8-20 keV band from the Jovian aurorae, obtained with the NuSTAR X-ray observatory. The X-rays fit to a flat power-law model with slope 0.60+/-0.22 - a spectral signature of non-thermal, hard X-ray bremsstrahlung. We determine the electron flux and spectral shape in the keV to MeV energy range using coeval in situ measurements by the Juno spacecraft's JADE and JEDI instruments. Jovian electron spectra of the form we observe have previously been interpreted to arise in stochastic acceleration, rather than coherent acceleration by electric fields. We reproduce the X-ray spectral shape and approximate flux observed by NuSTAR, and explain the non-detection of hard X-rays by Ulysses, by simulating the non-thermal population of electrons undergoing precipitating electron energy loss, secondary electron generation and bremsstrahlung emission in a model Jovian atmosphere. The results highlight the similarities between the processes generating hard X-ray auroras on Earth and Jupiter, which may be occurring on Saturn, too.

The Calculation of Photon Interactions in Gd2YAl2Ga3O12 compound by the Phy-X Software Compared with WinXCom Program

The photon interactions in Gd2YAl2Ga3O12 compound were studied in this work. The interaction parameters, such as total mass attenuation coefficient (μm), effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff), mean free path (MFP), half-value layer (HVL) and tenth-value layer (TVL) were computed as a function of energy between 1 keV-100 GeV, while the atomic equivalent (Zeq) and the buildup factors were calculated with 0.015 MeV-15 MeV energy range using Phy-X software. Moreover, all obtained values were compared with calculated ones using WinXCom program over the same energy range. Both calculation processes represent the μm reduction by following the energy increment. The Zeff and Neff show a similar trend depending on the energy range and have some discrete values at low energy. These discontinuous values correspond to the absorption edges which were also found in the μm calculation at same energy. The trends of MFP, HVL, and TVL are similar in that their highest values appear in the middle energy range with main interaction being Compton scattering. The buildup factors represent the multiple scattering of photons in materials and air with the main peaks in middle energy range.