The design for the proto type of the Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source (SLEGS) at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) is introduced. Some detailed descriptions for design of related instruments are provided. The proto type can produce X-ray with energy of 10 keV order. A description of the kinematics of Compton backscattering mechanism and the related simulation results are presented and discussed. The backgrounds from dipole magnet and bremsstrahlung are estimated and the signal-noise ratio is also given.
We report the first measurement of the neutron cross section on argon in the energy range of 100-800 MeV. The measurement was obtained with a 4.3-hour exposure of the Mini-CAPTAIN detector to the WNR/LANSCE beam at LANL. The total cross section is measured from the attenuation coefficient of the neutron flux as it traverses the liquid argon volume. A set of 2,631 candidate interactions is divided in bins of the neutron kinetic energy calculated from time-of-flight measurements. These interactions are reconstructed with custom-made algorithms specifically designed for the data in a time projection chamber the size of the Mini-CAPTAIN detector. The energy averaged cross section is $0.91 pm{} 0.10~mathrm{(stat.)} pm{} 0.09~mathrm{(sys.)}~mathrm{barns}$. A comparison of the measured cross section is made to the GEANT4 and FLUKA event generator packages.
The properties of a clinical LINAC are investigated for a study of photoactivation cross sections slightly above the neutron threshold. As an example, the photoactivation of a tiny amount of gold by the 197Au(gamma,n)196Au reaction has been measured. The derived photon intensity is at least comparable to conventional and widely used photon sources. In combination with its extremely stable operation, a clinical LINAC ensures that photoactivation studies can be performed for a wide number of targets with very limited beamtime.
Double electron capture is a rare nuclear decay process in which two orbital electrons are captured simultaneously in the same nucleus. Measurement of its two-neutrino mode would provide a new reference for the calculation of nuclear matrix elements whereas observation of its neutrinoless mode would demonstrate lepton number violation. A search for two-neutrino double electron capture on $^{124}$Xe is performed using 165.9 days of data collected with the XMASS-I liquid xenon detector. No significant excess above background was observed and we set a lower limit on the half-life as $4.7 times 10^{21}$ years at 90% confidence level. The obtained limit has ruled out parts of some theoretical expectations. We obtain a lower limit on the $^{126}$Xe two-neutrino double electron capture half-life of $4.3 times 10^{21}$ years at 90% confidence level as well.
We have measured the $gamma$-ray energy spectrum from the thermal neutron capture, ${}^{157}$Gd$(n,gamma){}^{158}$Gd, on an enriched $^{157}$Gd target (Gd$_{2}$O$_{3}$) in the energy range from 0.11 MeV up to about 8 MeV. The target was placed inside the germanium spectrometer of the ANNRI detector at J-PARC and exposed to a neutron beam from the Japan Spallation Neutron Source (JSNS). Radioactive sources ($^{60}$Co, $^{137}$Cs, and $^{152}$Eu) and the reaction $^{35}$Cl($n$,$gamma$) were used to determine the spectrometers detection efficiency for $gamma$ rays at energies from 0.3 to 8.5 MeV. Using a Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation of the detector and based on our data, we have developed a model to describe the $gamma$-ray spectrum from the thermal ${}^{157}$Gd($n$,$gamma$) reaction. While we include the strength information of 15 prominent peaks above 5 MeV and associated peaks below 1.6 MeV from our data directly into the model, we rely on the theoretical inputs of nuclear level density and the photon strength function of ${}^{158}$Gd to describe the continuum $gamma$-ray spectrum from the ${}^{157}$Gd($n$,$gamma$) reaction. Our model combines these two components. The results of the comparison between the observed $gamma$-ray spectra from the reaction and the model are reported in detail.
This Letter reports the first measurement of the $^{235}$U $overline{ u_{e}}$ energy spectrum by PROSPECT, the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum experiment, operating 7.9m from the 85MW$_{mathrm{th}}$ highly-enriched uranium (HEU) High Flux Isotope Reactor. With a surface-based, segmented detector, PROSPECT has observed 31678$pm$304 (stat.) $overline{ u_{e}}$-induced inverse beta decays (IBD), the largest sample from HEU fission to date, 99% of which are attributed to $^{235}$U. Despite broad agreement, comparison of the Huber $^{235}$U model to the measured spectrum produces a $chi^2/ndf = 51.4/31$, driven primarily by deviations in two localized energy regions. The measured $^{235}$U spectrum shape is consistent with a deviation relative to prediction equal in size to that observed at low-enriched uranium power reactors in the $overline{ u_{e}}$ energy region of 5-7MeV.