Iwa Ou | Searcharxiv

arXiv2020

Gamma Ray Spectra from Thermal Neutron Capture on Gadolinium-155 and Natural Gadolinium

Natural gadolinium is widely used for its excellent thermal neutron capture cross section, because of its two major isotopes: $^{\rm 155}$Gd and $^{\rm 157}$Gd. We measured the $γ$-ray spectra produced from the thermal neutron capture on targets comprising a natural gadolinium film and enriched $^{\rm 155}$Gd (in Gd$_{2}$O$_{3}$ powder) in the energy range from 0.11 MeV to 8.0 MeV, using the ANNRI germanium spectrometer at MLF, J-PARC. The freshly analysed data of the $^{\rm 155}$Gd(n, $γ$) reaction are used to improve our previously developed model (ANNRI-Gd model) for the $^{\rm 157}$Gd(n, $γ$) reaction, and its performance confirmed with the independent data from the $^{\rm nat}$Gd(n, $γ$) reaction. This article completes the development of an efficient Monte Carlo model required to simulate and analyse particle interactions involving the thermal neutron captures on gadolinium in any relevant future experiments.

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arXiv2018

Gamma Ray Spectrum from Thermal Neutron Capture on Gadolinium-157

We have measured the $γ$-ray energy spectrum from the thermal neutron capture, ${}^{157}$Gd$(n,γ){}^{158}$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($n$,$γ$) were used to determine the spectrometer's detection efficiency for $γ$ 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 $γ$-ray spectrum from the thermal ${}^{157}$Gd($n$,$γ$) 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 $γ$-ray spectrum from the ${}^{157}$Gd($n$,$γ$) reaction. Our model combines these two components. The results of the comparison between the observed $γ$-ray spectra from the reaction and the model are reported in detail.

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