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Register a new userPrompt Fission Neutrons in the $^{239}$Pu($n,f$) Reaction
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Prompt fission neutron spectra from $^{239}$Pu($n,f$) were measured for incident neutron energies from $0.7$ to $700,$MeV at the Weapons Neutron Research facility (WNR) of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. A newly designed high-efficiency fission chamber was coupled to the highly segmented Chi-Nu array to detect neutrons emitted in fission events. The double time-of-flight technique was used to deduce the incident-neutron energies from the spallation target and the outgoing-neutron energies from the fission chamber. Prompt fission neutron spectra (PFNS) were measured with respect to $^{252}$Cf spontaneous fission down to $200,$keV and up to about $12,$MeV for all the incident neutron energies with typical uncertainties well below $2%$ up to about $10,$MeV outgoing-neutron energy. The general trend of PFNS is well reproduced by JEFF3.3 and ENDF-BVIII.0 evaluations. Discrepancies were however observed for the low-energy part of the spectra, where evaluations overestimate the number of emitted neutrons. Neutron multiplicities and average kinetic energies as a function of incident-neutron energy are obtained experimentally with reported uncertainties below $0.4%$. Neutron multiplicities disagree with some older datasets above $6,$ MeV, indicating the need of using a high-efficiency fission detector, which does not bias the data. The measured mean kinetic energies agree with the most recent data. Evaluations fairly reproduce the trend, but fail to reproduce the experimental values within their uncertainties.
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The average prompt-fission-neutron multiplicity $bar{ u}$ is of significance in the areas of nuclear theory, nuclear nonproliferation, and nuclear energy. In this work, the surrogate-reaction method has been used for the first time to indirectly determine $bar{ u}$ for $^{239}$Pu($n$,$f$) via $^{240}$Pu($alpha$,$alpha^{prime}f$) reactions. A $^{240}$Pu target was bombarded with a beam of 53.9-MeV $alpha$ particles. Scattered $alpha$ particles, fission products, and neutrons were measured with the NeutronSTARS detector array. Values of $bar{ u}$ were obtained for a continuous range of equivalent incident neutron energies between 0.25--26.25~MeV, and the results agree well with direct neutron measurements.
The $^{239}$Pu(n,f)/$^{235}$U(n,f) cross-section ratio has been measured with the fission Time Projection Chamber (fissionTPC) from 100 keV to 100 MeV. The fissionTPC provides three-dimensional reconstruction of fission-fragment ionization profiles, allowing for a precise quantification of measurement uncertainties. The measurement was performed at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center which provides a pulsed white source of neutrons. The data are recommended to be used as a cross-section ratio shape. A discussion of the status of the absolute normalization and comparisons to ENDF evaluations and previous measurements is included.
The $(n,gamma f)$ process is reviewed in light of modern nuclear reaction calculations in both slow and fast neutron-induced fission reactions on $^{235}$U and $^{239}$Pu. Observed fluctuations of the average prompt fission neutron multiplicity and average total $gamma$-ray energy below 100 eV incident neutron energy are interpreted in this framework. The surprisingly large contribution of the M1 transitions to the pre-fission $gamma$-ray spectrum of $^{239}$Pu is explained by the dominant fission probabilities of 0$^+$ and $2^+$ transition states, which can only be accessed from compound nucleus states formed by the interaction of $s$-wave neutrons with the target nucleus in its ground state, and decaying through M1 transitions. The impact of an additional low-lying M1 scissors mode in the photon strength function is analyzed. We review experimental evidence for fission fragment mass and kinetic energy fluctuations in the resonance region and their importance in the interpretation of experimental data on prompt neutron data in this region. Finally, calculations are extended to the fast energy range where $(n,gamma f)$ corrections can account for up to 3% of the total fission cross section and about 20% of the capture cross section.
In the 1980s, measurements of the cumulative $beta$ spectra of the fission products following the thermal neutron induced fission of $^{235}$U, $^{239}$Pu, and $^{241}$Pu were performed at the magnetic spectrometer BILL at the ILL in Grenoble. This data was published in bins of 250 keV. In this paper, we re-publish the original data in a binning of 50 keV for $^{235}$U and 100 keV for $^{239}$Pu and $^{241}$Pu.
Employing a recently developed Monte Carlo model, we study the fission of 240Pu induced by neutrons with energies from thermal to just below the threshold for second chance fission. Current measurements of the mean number of prompt neutrons emitted in fission, together with less accurate measurements of the neutron energy spectra, place remarkably fine constraints on predictions of microscopic calculations. In particular, the total excitation energy of the nascent fragments must be specified to within 1 MeV to avoid disagreement with measurements of the mean neutron multiplicity. The combination of the Monte Carlo fission model with a statistical likelihood analysis also presents a powerful tool for the evaluation of fission neutron data. Of particular importance is the fission spectrum, which plays a key role in determining reactor criticality. We show that our approach can be used to develop an estimate of the fission spectrum with uncertainties several times smaller than current experimental uncertainties for outgoing neutron energies up to 2 MeV.
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