Measurement of Spectrum Averaged Cross Sections in LR-0 Benchmark Reference Neutron Field

• Main Authors: Košťál, Michal, Losa, Evžen, Simakov, Stanislav, Czakoj, Tomáš, Schulc, Martin, Šimon, Jan, Rypar, Vojtěch, Mareček, Martin, Uhlíř, Jan, Krechlerová, Alena, Peltan, Tomáš, Pošvař, Radek, Matěj, Zdeněk, Bernard, David, Trkov, Andrej, Capote, Roberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 13-05-2024
• Subjects: Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors; Physics - Nuclear Experiment
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2407.07897

The measured and evaluated excitation functions are fundamental quantities
that affect the accuracy of all calculations in nuclear applications. Some
cross sections, such as 14N(n,p)14C, have added value for special applications,
as these reactions may be responsible for possible contamination in industrial
processes such as spent fuel reprocessing. For the validation of the evaluated
cross sections, we can rely on the comparison of the calculated spectrum
averaged cross sections (SACS) for the given neutron spectrum with the measured
SACS value. The benchmark reference neutron field has been identified,
characterized, and well validated in the LR-0 special core. A very large set of
SACS measurements in the LR0 reference field is measured with low uncertainty,
making it an excellent set for deconvolution codes validation. The impact of
the gamma-induced reaction on the production yield of neutron-induced reactions
was investigated for most of the benchmarked reactions. Gamma competition was
found to contribute at most 1% for the 197Au(n,2n) reaction, while being
substantially lower for other target isotopes and neutron-induced activation
reactions.