Cross-section for proton-tritium scattering from 1.4 to 3.4 MeV at the laboratory angle of 165°

The elastic scattering cross-section for proton scattering from tritium was measured at a laboratory angle of 165° and over an incident proton energy range from 1.4 to 3.4 MeV. A thin solid target containing 1.62 × 10¹⁷ T atoms/cm² was prepared by absorption of tritium into a film of titanium on aluminium foil backing. The cross-section increases almost linearly with decreasing energy in the higher energy region of 2-3.4 MeV. The currently measured cross-section data are compared with data available in the literature values and they show a similarly linear trend in a similar higher energy range. The maximum difference in the cross-section at almost the same scattering angle between current data and the previous results is no worse than 2.3%.     

Proton elastic scattering and proton induced γ-ray emission cross-sections on Na from 2 to 5 MeV

Differential cross-sections for proton elastic scattering on sodium and for γ-ray emission from the reactions ²³Na(p,p′γ)²³Na (E_γ = 440 keV and E_γ = 1636 keV) and ²³Na(p,α′γ)²⁰Ne (E_γ = 1634 keV) were measured for proton energies from 2.2 to 5.2 MeV using a 63 μg/cm² NaBr target evaporated on a self-supporting thin C film.The γ-rays were detected by a 38% relative efficiency Ge detector placed at an angle of 135° with respect to the beam direction, while the backscattered protons were collected by a Si surface barrier detector placed at a scattering angle of 150°. Absolute differential cross-sections were obtained with an overall uncertainty estimated to be better than ±6.0% for elastic scattering and ±12% for γ-ray emission, at all the beam energies.To provide a convincing test of the overall validity of the measured elastic scattering cross-section, thick target benchmark experiments at several proton energies are presented.     

Measurement and analysis of the energy–angular distribution of secondary neutrons for Be at 5.9 and 6.4 MeV incident neutrons

The energy-angle double-differential neutron emission cross-sections of beryllium have been measured using the time of flight technique for 5.9 and 6.4 MeV incident neutrons, respectively, at 10 laboratory angles between 25° and 150°. The measured results are compared with model calculations based on the LUNF code and those of other authors and the ENDF/B-VII data. The estimation of the inelastic scattering neutron cross-sections leaving ⁹Be^∗ at the low-lying level states are also theoretically analyzed by the LUNF code. The experimental and calculated results indicated that the lowest (1.68 MeV) level still contributes to the (n, 2n) reaction with cross-sections of several 10 mb. The angular distributions and the angle-integrated elastic scattering cross-sections are also presented in comparison with other ones, these being in good agreement with the ENDF/B-VII data.     

Proton elastic scattering differential cross-sections for C

Carbon depth profiling presents a strong analytical challenge for all the major ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques, with elastic backscattering spectroscopy (EBS) being widely implemented. In the past, the ¹²C(p,p)¹²C reaction has been successfully evaluated for proton beam energies up to 4.5 MeV. Currently, an attempt is being made to extend this evaluation to higher energies, namely up to E_p,lab = 7 MeV. There is a certain lack of available and/or coherent datasets in literature for these relatively high proton beam energies at backward angles, suitable for IBA. Moreover, the few existing datasets are in certain cases discrepant. Thus, in the present work, the differential cross-section of proton elastic scattering on carbon were measured between 140°and 170°, in steps of 10°, for the proton beam energy range between 2.7 and 7 MeV. The experimental results obtained, along with data from literature, were evaluated applying nuclear physics models. The evaluated results were benchmarked using a thick, mirror polished glassy carbon target at different beam energies and detector angles.     

Interferences in electron emission from O2 by 30 MeV O impact

Interference structures in the ejected electron spectra for 30 MeV O^5,8+ + O₂ are investigated. The measured electron yields were studied for electron energies from 5 to 400 eV and observation angles of 30°, 60°, 90°, 120° and 150° with respect to the incident beam direction. Experimental molecular cross-sections were normalized to theoretical molecular one-center cross-sections revealing oscillatory structures suggestive of secondary interferences as evidenced by the independence on the observation angle. An oscillation interval for 30 MeV O^5,8+ + O₂ of Δk ∼ 4 a.u. is found, a value two times larger than that previously observed for 3 MeV H⁺ + N₂. No obvious evidence for primary Young-type interferences was seen.     

Measurements and evaluation of the cross-section for helium elastic scattering from nitrogen

The cross-sections for the elastic scattering of alphas from natural nitrogen were measured at three laboratory scattering angles: 118°, 150° and 165° at non-Rutherford scattering energies from 2.5 to 4.0 MeV. Experimental data obtained in this work, together with all previously published data, were used for the cross-section evaluation. Model calculations with comparison and fitting to the experimental data were used for the evaluation of the cross-section. As a result of the work, the recommended cross-sections for scattering of alphas from nitrogen have been produced in the energy region of 1.6-4.6 MeV.     

Elastic scattering cross-section of proton from helium at the laboratory angle of 165°

The differential He(p,p)He reaction cross-section was determined at a laboratory angle of 165° for proton energies between 1.6 and 3.6 MeV. A new method for preparation of helium-titanium (Ti) targets by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering was employed for the first time. The currently measured cross-section data are compared with the available literature values. They show a similarly trend in the higher energy range but with a maximum difference of up to 12% in the absolute value. The uncertainty in the present cross-section data is about 7.3%.     

Measurement of (d,p) and (d,α) differential cross-sections for aluminum

The differential cross-sections for ²⁷Al(d,p_{0+1,2+3,4,5+6})²⁸Al and ²⁷Al(d,α_0,1,2,3,4)²⁵Mg have been measured in the energy ranges from 1.3 to 2.3 MeV and from 1.5 to 2.4 MeV, respectively at the laboratory angle of 150°. The obtained results are compared with data published in the literature. Discrepancies between new and previously acquired data are discussed. The cross-sections measured in the present work were uploaded to the IBANDL data base (www-nds.iaea.org/ibandl/).     

Excitation functions and isotopic effects in (n, p) reactions for stable nickel isotopes from reaction threshold to 20 MeV

The excitation function for (n, p) reactions from reaction threshold to 20 MeV on five nickel isotopes viz; ⁵⁸Ni, ⁶⁰Ni, ⁶¹Ni, ⁶²Ni and ⁶⁴Ni were calculated using Talys-1.0 nuclear model code involving the fixed set of global parameters. A good agreement between the calculated and measured data is obtained with minimum effort on parameter fitting and only one free parameter called ‘Shell damping factor’. This is of importance to the validation of nuclear model approaches with increased predictive power. The systematic decrease in (n, p) cross-sections with increasing neutron number in reactions induced by neutrons on isotopes of nickel is explained in terms of the proton separation energy and the pre-equilibrium model. The compound nucleus and pre-equilibrium reaction mechanism as well as the isotopic effects were also studied.     

Measurement of differential cross-sections and widths of resonances in S(p,p′γ) S reaction in the 3.0-4.0 MeV region

The paper reports the widths and differential cross-sections of resonances at 3.089, 3.379 and 3.717 MeV in the ³²S(p,p′γ)³²S nuclear reaction. The cross-sections are computed at 0° and 90° angles (relative to the beam direction) from thick target excitation curves constructed by measuring 2230 keV γ-rays, characteristic of the reaction. The differential cross-sections of resonances are about 18, 64 and 70 mb/sr respectively at 0° angle and decrease by about half around an angle of 90°. The first resonance, the sharpest among the three, exhibits a width of about 400 eV while those at 3.379 and 3.717 MeV are in 1.0-1.5 keV range. The widths of the resonances are extracted from the respective thick target excitation curves by an interquartile separation method and also by simulating their leading edges. A study of thick target yields in the 3.0-4.0 MeV proton energy region for several sulphide forming elements shows the absence of any significant interference. These resonances, as a result, can be effectively utilised for sensitive and high resolution depth profile measurements of sulphur in films and materials surfaces.     

Rayleigh, Compton and K-shell radiative resonant Raman scattering in 83Bi for 88.034 keV γ-rays

The Rayleigh, Compton and K-shell radiative resonant Raman scattering cross-sections for the 88.034 keV γ-rays have been measured in the ₈₃Bi (K-shell binding energy = 90.526 keV) element. The measurements have been performed at 130° scattering angle using reflection-mode geometrical arrangement involving the ¹⁰⁹Cd radioisotope as photon source and an LEGe detector. Computer simulations were exercised to determine distributions of the incident and emission angles, which were further used in evaluation of the absorption corrections for the incident and emitted photons in the target. The measured cross-sections for the Rayleigh scattering are compared with the modified form-factors (MFs) corrected for the anomalous-scattering factors (ASFs) and the S-matrix calculations; and those for the Compton scattering are compared with the Klein-Nishina cross-sections corrected for the non-relativistic Hartree-Fock incoherent scattering function S(x, Z). The ratios of the measured KL₂, KL₃, KM and KN_2,3 radiative resonant Raman scattering cross-sections are found to be in general agreement with those of the corresponding measured fluorescence transition probabilities.     

Calculation and evaluation of cross-sections for p+Fe reactions up to 250 MeV

All cross-sections of proton-induced reactions, angular distributions and the energy spectra of neutron, proton, deuteron, triton, helium and alpha-particle emission are consistent calculated and analyzed for p+^{54,56,57,58,nat}Fe at incident proton energies below 250 MeV by using nuclear theoretical models which integrate the optical model, the intra-nuclear cascade model, direct, preequilibrium and equilibrium reaction theories. Especially, the cross-sections of the light composite particle (d, t, ³He and α) emissions are improved based on the exciton model including the pick-up mechanism. Theoretical calculated results are compared with existing experimental data.     

High energy primary knock-on process in metal-deuterium systems initiated by bombardment with noble gas ions

An experimental study confirms the possibility of nuclear fusion reactions initiating in metal-deuterium targets by bombarding them with ions that are not the reagents of the fusion reaction, in particular, with noble gas ions. The yields of (d,d) and (d,t) reactions were measured as functions of energy (0.4-3.2 MeV) and mass of incident ions (He⁺, Ne⁺, Ar⁺, Kr⁺ and Xe⁺). Irradiation by heavy ions produced a number of energetic deuterium atoms in the deuteride and deuterium + tritium metal targets. At ion energies of ∼0.1-1 MeV the d-d reaction yields are relatively high. A model of nuclear fusion reaction cross-sections in atomic collision cascades initiated by noble gas ion beam in metal-deuterium target is developed. The method for calculation tritium or deuterium recoil fluxes and the yield of d-d fusion reaction in subsequent collisions was proposed. It was shown that D(d,p)t and D(t,n)⁴He reactions mainly occur in energy region of the recoiled D-atom from 10 keV to 250 keV. The calculated probabilities of d-d and d-t fusion reactions were found to be in a good agreement with the experimental data.     

Investigation of the Zn(p, 2p)Cu nuclear reaction: New measurements up to 40 MeV and compilation up to 100 MeV

The excitation function was measured for the ⁶⁸Zn(p, 2p)⁶⁷Cu nuclear reaction from its threshold energy up to 40 MeV. Nine pieces of highly enriched ⁶⁸Zn (>98%) metal foils were irradiated to obtain reliable cross-sections using the usual stacked-foil technique. All foils were subjected to high efficiency radiochemical separation before the activity measurements. A critical compilation of the available experimental cross-section results was also performed. Thick target yields of ⁶⁷Cu and the longer-lived copper radio-contaminants (⁶¹Cu and ⁶⁴Cu) were calculated using the reliable literature results up to 100 MeV. Additionally, EOB (End Of Bombardment) contamination levels as a function of bombarding energy and irradiation time were deduced.     

Study of the excitation functions for K, Sc and Ti by proton irradiation on Sc up to 37 MeV

The excitation functions of proton induced reactions on Sc targets (100% ⁴⁵Sc), leading to the formation isotopes ⁴³K, ⁴³Sc, ^44mSc, ^44gSc and ⁴⁴Ti were studied by the stacked foil activation technique up to 37 MeV. High-resolution gamma-spectrometry measurements were performed on an HPGe detector in order to determine the activity of the irradiated Sc₂O₃ pellets and Ti monitor foils. The reaction cross-sections were measured from their respective thresholds up to E_p = 36.4 MeV and were compared with previous values reported in literature. Possible batch yields and optimal irradiation parameters for generator ⁴⁴Ti -^44gSc in high current accelerators are discussed.     

Taper angle dependence of the focusing effect of high energy heavy ion beams by glass capillaries

The 6.4 MeV ¹⁵N²⁺ ion beams are focused using glass capillary optics. The transmitted beam includes ions which have suffered slight energy loss. The areal density of the transmitted beam is enhanced by approximately 10 times, and the enhancement factor does not depend on the incident beam current. The NRA spectrum intensity decreases with the increase of the capillary taper angle. These results all together suggest that the nuclear forward scattering is more significant in the focusing mechanism than the low energy ions case.     

Depth resolution of TOF-ERDA using a He beam

Depth resolution of time-of-flight ERDA using a ⁴He beam (He TOF-ERDA) has been studied. The measurement system consists of a time detector of the ion transmission type and a silicon surface-barrier detector. Depth resolution was measured using samples of carbon layers on silicon wafers and ⁴He beams with energies between 3.5 and 10.1 MeV. The depth resolution of 6.0 ± 1.6 nm (FWHM) was obtained with a 3.5 MeV ⁴He incident beam. The measured depth resolution agreed with that evaluated by a calculation. Comparison with other methods such as heavy ion (HI) TOF-ERDA, resonant elastic scattering and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) was performed. Depth resolution obtained by He TOF-ERDA is superior to that by NRA or resonant elastic scattering, and comparable to that by HI TOF-ERDA.     

Excitation functions of (p,x) reactions on natural nickel up to 40 MeV

Production cross-sections of the residual radionuclides for the ^natNi(p,x)^{55,56,57,58 m + g}Co, ^56,57Ni nuclear reactions were measured up to 40 MeV by using a stacked-foil activation technique at the MC-50 cyclotron of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences. The results were compared with the reported experimental data as well as the theoretical calculations based on the TALYS and the ALICE-IPPE codes. The present results are in general good agreement with the other experimental data and calculated results. The integral yields for thick target were also deduced from the measured excitation functions of the produced radionuclides. The present experimental results will play an important role in enrichment of the literature data base for proton-induced reactions on natural nickel leading to various applications.     

Oxygen effects on irradiated tantalum alloys

Ta and Ta-1% W are being considered to be used as target clad materials in the LANSCE proton beam line for the material test station (MTS). To investigate the embrittlement of these materials due to oxygen contamination and proton irradiation, Ta and Ta-1 wt% W (as received and with ∼400 ppm O) were exposed to a 3.5 MeV proton beam at the ion beam materials laboratory at LANL. After irradiating the samples in the proton beam, nanoindentation was performed in cross-section to investigate the hardness increase of the materials due to irradiation. The nanoindentation showed that the hardness increase due to irradiation is between 9% and 20% depending on the material. The results show good agreement with mechanical testing results on tantalum and Ta-1 wt% W after high energy proton irradiation to doses up to 23 dpa.     

Experimental determination of photofission cross-sections of Th using electron accelerator

Photofission cross-section of ²³²Th was measured using Bremsstrahlung radiation energy 7.4–9.2 MeV with energy step of 0.3 MeV by employing Lexan polycarbonate film as Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD). The photon intensity from the Microtron accelerator facility was estimated to be 10¹⁰ photons/s at a distance of 15 cm from the Bremsstrahlung converter using EGS-4 code (Nelson et al., 1985). Photofission cross-sections were evaluated using fission fragment angular distribution measurements. The present experimental results were compared with EMPIRE-2.19 (Herman et al., 2005) code prediction of RIPL-1 and RIPL-2 ( and ) and a new analytical formula (Gupta and Saxena, 2005) for fission barrier.