On Energy-Dependent Neutron Diffusion

Abstract

While the energy-dependent neutron diffusion equation is widely employed in nuclear engineering, its status as an approximation to the transport equation is not yet completely understood, and several different approximations are in use to determine the diffusion coefficients. Past work on the theory underlying the diffusion approximation has often made use of asymptotic arguments; in the energy-dependent case, however, papers have appeared that differ substantially in their findings. Here we present a formal asymptotic derivation of the multigroup diffusion equation which addresses these differences, along with the varying and sometimes physically stringent assumptions employed in these works. Further, we show a way to exactly invert the relationship between flux and current in the P1 approximation, giving a matricial expression for the multigroup diffusion coefficient which is formally exact, has clear physical meaning, and which can be easily computed to arbitrary precision on the basis of cross-section data already produced by lattice calculations. The resulting 2-group diffusion coefficient for an infinite medium of hydrogen is calculated with Monte Carlo, and compared to the those deriving from the Cumulative Migration Method and from the out-scatter approximation.