arXiv subjects

P. Žugec

Publications and source records attributed to P. Žugec.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Energy-differential measurement of the $^{\mathrm{nat}}$C(n,p) and $^{\mathrm{nat}}$C(n,d) reactions at the n_TOF facility at CERN

Energy-differential cross section of the $^{\mathrm{nat}}$C(n,p) and $^{\mathrm{nat}}$C(n,d) reactions was measured at the neutron time of flight facility n_TOF at CERN. The measurement was performed in the first experimental area (EAR1; flight path of 182.5 m). Two position-sensitive $ΔE$-$E$ silicon telescopes were used. Two naturally occurring carbon isotopes, $^{12}$C and $^{13}$C, contribute to the reactions on natural carbon, with the (n,p) reaction threshold at 13.7 MeV and the (n,d) threshold at 14.9 MeV (determined by the $^{12}$C isotope for both reactions). This paper provides the details of the analysis leading to the final results published previously as a Letter. The cross section results are reported up to 25 MeV. During the data analysis the population of the excited states in the daughter nuclei $^{11}$B, $^{12}$B, $^{13}$B had to be considered, requiring the adoption of the branching ratios and angular distributions of the emitted particles from an external source of information. TALYS-2.0 calculations were used as the main source and an in-depth analysis of the model-related uncertainties was performed. The n_TOF results are largely inconsistent with the major evaluation libraries. On the other hand, an unexpected agreement is found with TALYS-2.0 calculations. Specifically, the obtained cross section for the (n,p) reaction is significantly higher than in the available evaluations, fully supporting the earlier finding from an integral measurement at n_TOF.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2025

Measurement of the $^\text{nat}$C(n,p) and $^\text{nat}$C(n,d) reactions from n_TOF at CERN

The energy dependence of the cross section of the (n,p) and (n,d) reactions on $^\text{nat}$C has been studied for the first time at the n_TOF facility at CERN, from the particle detection threshold up to 25 MeV. The measurement was performed with two telescopes made of position-sensitive silicon $ΔE$-$E$ detectors, covering the angular range from 20° to 140°. A detector efficiency has been determined by means of Monte Carlo simulations of the experimental setup. Various assumptions on the angular distributions and branching ratios of the excited levels of the residual $^{11}$B, $^{12}$B, $^{13}$B nuclei were considered. In particular, theoretical calculations based on the TALYS-2.0 code were used and the systematic uncertainties in the analysis results were determined from the variations in these distributions. The n_TOF data on the (n,p) and (n,d) reaction on carbon are characterized by a higher accuracy and wider energy range than currently available in literature. A comparison with current evaluations from different libraries reveals a rather significant disagreement with the n_TOF results, while a remarkable agreement is observed with the prediction of TALYS-2.0 for this light element.

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arXiv2022

Machine learning based event classification for the energy-differential measurement of the $^\text{nat}$C(n,p) and $^\text{nat}$C(n,d) reactions

The paper explores the feasibility of using machine learning techniques, in particular neural networks, for classification of the experimental data from the joint $^\text{nat}$C(n,p) and $^\text{nat}$C(n,d) reaction cross section measurement from the neutron time of flight facility n_TOF at CERN. Each relevant $ΔE$-$E$ pair of strips from two segmented silicon telescopes is treated separately and afforded its own dedicated neural network. An important part of the procedure is a careful preparation of training datasets, based on the raw data from Geant4 simulations. Instead of using these raw data for the training of neural networks, we divide a relevant 3-parameter space into discrete voxels, classify each voxel according to a particle/reaction type and submit these voxels to a training procedure. The classification capabilities of the structurally optimized and trained neural networks are found to be superior to those of the manually selected cuts.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2020

A synchronization method for the multi-channel silicon telescope

A simple method is presented for the simultaneous off-line synchronization of the digitally recorded data-streams from a multi-channel silicon telescope. The method is based both on the synchronization between the separate pairs of silicon strips and on the synchronization relative to an external timing device. Though only a reduced subset of these constraints is necessary in ideal circumstances, it is shown that this minimal set of conditions may not be sufficient for adequate synchronization in all cases. All available sources of information are therefore considered, in order to constrain the final synchronization as well as possible.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Study of a data analysis method for the angle resolving silicon telescope

A new data analysis method is developed for the angle resolving silicon telescope introduced at the neutron time of flight facility n_TOF at CERN. The telescope has already been used in measurements of several neutron induced reactions with charged particles in the exit channel. The development of a highly detailed method is necessitated by the latest joint measurement of the $^{12}$C($n,p$) and $^{12}$C($n,d$) reactions from n_TOF. The reliable analysis of these data must account for the challenging nature of the involved reactions, as they are affected by the multiple excited states in the daughter nuclei and characterized by the anisotropic angular distributions of the reaction products. The unabridged analysis procedure aims at the separate reconstruction of all relevant reaction parameters - the absolute cross section, the branching ratios and the angular distributions - from the integral number of the coincidental counts detected by the separate pairs of silicon strips. This procedure is tested under the specific conditions relevant for the $^{12}$C($n,p$) and $^{12}$C($n,d$) measurements from n_TOF, in order to assess its direct applicability to these experimental data. Based on the reached conclusions, the original method is adapted to a particular level of uncertainties in the input data.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2018

A Simple Setup for Cosmic Muon Lifetime Measurements

Elementary particle physics is a fascinating field of modern physics investigating the basic constituents of matter and their interactions. In the experiments large accelerators and very sophisticated detector systems are usually used. However, it is desirable to have simple experiments for undergraduate and even secondary school courses which can demonstrate complex investigations in this field. We have constructed a simple setup for the measurement of the lifetime of cosmic muons based on a single scintillation detector. Expensive and complicated professional particle physics equipment for the signal processing, which mainly prevented the realization of this experiment by non-experts, is replaced by simple, inexpensive and commercially available electronic components. With our setup we register time stamps of the events detected in the scintillation detector and from this data we determine the muon lifetime. Also, Python software package has been developed for data analysis and presentation of the results.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2017

A direct method for unfolding the resolution function from measurements of neutron induced reactions

The paper explores the numerical stability and the computational efficiency of a direct method for unfolding the resolution function from the measurements of the neutron induced reactions. A detailed resolution function formalism is laid out, followed by an overview of challenges present in a practical implementation of the method. A special matrix storage scheme is developed in order to facilitate both the memory management of the resolution function matrix, and to increase the computational efficiency of the matrix multiplication and decomposition procedures. Due to its admirable computational properties, a Cholesky decomposition is at the heart of the unfolding procedure. With the smallest but necessary modification of the matrix to be decomposed, the method is successfully applied to system of $10^5\times10^5$. However, the amplification of the uncertainties during the direct inversion procedures limits the applicability of the method to high-precision measurements of neutron induced reactions.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2016

Neutron capture cross section measurement of 238U at the n TOF CERN facility with C6D6 scintillation detectors in the energy region from 1 eV to 700 keV

The aim of this work is to provide a precise and accurate measurement of the 238U(n,g) reaction cross section in the energy region from 1 eV to 700 keV. This reaction is of fundamental importance for the design calculations of nuclear reactors, governing the behaviour of the reactor core. In particular, fast reactors, which are experiencing a growing interest for their ability to burn radioactive waste, operate in the high energy region of the neutron spectrum. In this energy region most recent evaluations disagree due to inconsistencies in the existing measurements of up to 15%. In addition, the assessment of nuclear data uncertainty performed for innovative reactor systems shows that the uncertainty in the radiative capture cross-section of 238U should be further reduced to 1-3% in the energy region from 20 eV to 25 keV. To this purpose, addressed by the Nuclear Energy Agency as a priority nuclear data need, complementary experiments, one at the GELINA and two at the n_TOF facility, were proposed and carried out within the 7th Framework Project ANDES of the European Commission. The results of one of these 238U(n,g) measurements performed at the n_TOF CERN facility are presented in this work. The gamma-ray cascade following the radiative neutron capture has been detected exploiting a setup of two C6D6 liquid scintillators. Resonance parameters obtained from this work are on average in excellent agreement with the ones reported in evaluated libraries. In the unresolved resonance region, this work yields a cross section in agreement with evaluated libraries up to 80 keV, while for higher energies our results are significantly higher.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

An improved method for estimating the neutron background in measurements of neutron capture reactions

The relation between the neutron background in neutron capture measurements and the neutron sensitivity related to the experimental setup is examined. It is pointed out that a proper estimate of the neutron background may only be obtained by means of dedicated simulations taking into account the full framework of the neutron-induced reactions and their complete temporal evolution. No other presently available method seems to provide reliable results, in particular under the capture resonances. An improved neutron background estimation technique is proposed, the main improvement regarding the treatment of the neutron sensitivity, taking into account the temporal evolution of the neutron-induced reactions. The technique is complemented by an advanced data analysis procedure based on relativistic kinematics of neutron scattering. The analysis procedure allows for the calculation of the neutron background in capture measurements, without requiring the time-consuming simulations to be adapted to each particular sample. A suggestion is made on how to improve the neutron background estimates if neutron background simulations are not available.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

Integral measurement of the $^{12}$C(n,p)$^{12}$B reaction up to 10 GeV

The integral measurement of the $^{12}$C(n,p)$^{12}$B reaction was performed at the neutron time of flight facility n_TOF at CERN. The total number of $^{12}$B nuclei produced per neutron pulse of the n_TOF beam was determined using the activation technique in combination with a time of flight technique. The cross section is integrated over the n_TOF neutron energy spectrum from reaction threshold at 13.6 MeV to 10 GeV. Having been measured up to 1 GeV on basis of the $^{235}$U(n,f) reaction, the neutron energy spectrum above 200 MeV has been reevaluated due to the recent extension of the cross section reference for this particular reaction, which is otherwise considered a standard up to 200 MeV. The results from the dedicated GEANT4 simulations have been used to evaluate the neutron flux from 1 GeV up to 10 GeV. The experimental results related to the $^{12}$C(n,p)$^{12}$B reaction are compared with the evaluated cross sections from major libraries and with the predictions of different GEANT4 models, which mostly underestimate the $^{12}$B production. On the contrary, a good reproduction of the integral cross section derived from measurements is obtained with TALYS-1.6 calculations, with optimized parameters.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

Pulse processing routines for neutron time-of-flight data

A pulse shape analysis framework is described, which was developed for n_TOF-Phase3, the third phase in the operation of the n_TOF facility at CERN. The most notable feature of this new framework is the adoption of generic pulse shape analysis routines, characterized by a minimal number of explicit assumptions about the nature of pulses. The aim of these routines is to be applicable to a wide variety of detectors, thus facilitating the introduction of the new detectors or types of detectors into the analysis framework. The operational details of the routines are suited to the specific requirements of particular detectors by adjusting the set of external input parameters. Pulse recognition, baseline calculation and the pulse shape fitting procedure are described. Special emphasis is put on their computational efficiency, since the most basic implementations of these conceptually simple methods are often computationally inefficient.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the $^{12}$C($n,p$)$^{12}$B cross section at n_TOF (CERN) by in-beam activation analysis

The integral cross section of the $^{12}$C($n,p$)$^{12}$B reaction has been determined for the first time in the neutron energy range from threshold to several GeV at the n_TOF facility at CERN. The measurement relies on the activation technique, with the $β$-decay of $^{12}$B measured over a period of four half-lives within the same neutron bunch in which the reaction occurs. The results indicate that model predictions, used in a variety of applications, are mostly inadequate. The value of the integral cross section reported here can be used as a benchmark for verifying or tuning model calculations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

GEANT4 simulation of the neutron background of the C$_6$D$_6$ set-up for capture studies at n_TOF

The neutron sensitivity of the C$_6$D$_6$ detector setup used at n_TOF for capture measurements has been studied by means of detailed GEANT4 simulations. A realistic software replica of the entire n_TOF experimental hall, including the neutron beam line, sample, detector supports and the walls of the experimental area has been implemented in the simulations. The simulations have been analyzed in the same manner as experimental data, in particular by applying the Pulse Height Weighting Technique. The simulations have been validated against a measurement of the neutron background performed with a $^\mathrm{nat}$C sample, showing an excellent agreement above 1 keV. At lower energies, an additional component in the measured $^\mathrm{nat}$C yield has been discovered, which prevents the use of $^\mathrm{nat}$C data for neutron background estimates at neutron energies below a few hundred eV. The origin and time structure of the neutron background have been derived from the simulations. Examples of the neutron background for two different samples are demonstrating the important role of accurate simulations of the neutron background in capture cross section measurements.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Experimental neutron capture data of $^{58}$Ni from the CERN n_TOF facility

The $^{58}$Ni $(n,γ)$ cross section has been measured at the neutron time of flight facility n_TOF at CERN, in the energy range from 27 meV up to 400 keV. In total, 51 resonances have been analyzed up to 122 keV. Maxwellian averaged cross sections (MACS) have been calculated for stellar temperatures of kT$=$5-100 keV with uncertainties of less than 6%, showing fair agreement with recent experimental and evaluated data up to kT = 50 keV. The MACS extracted in the present work at 30 keV is 34.2$\pm$0.6$_\mathrm{stat}\pm$1.8$_\mathrm{sys}$ mb, in agreement with latest results and evaluations, but 12% lower relative to the recent KADoNIS compilation of astrophysical cross sections. When included in models of the s-process nucleosynthesis in massive stars, this change results in a 60% increase of the abundance of $^{58}$Ni, with a negligible propagation on heavier isotopes. The reason is that, using both the old or the new MACS, 58Ni is efficiently depleted by neutron captures.

nucl-ex↗