Measurement of the 9Be(d, xt) Reaction Total Cross Sections by Secondary Activation and Spectroscopy Methods

Abstract

Total cross sections σ_d,xt of reaction ⁹Be(d, xt) are measured in the 1.5–12 МeV range of deuteron energies with an error of 8.3% using activation reaction ⁹Be + t → α + ⁸Li + 2.927 МeV (T_1/2 = 0.84 s, E_β max = 13 МeV) according to B.Ya. Guzhovskii’s method on the EGP-10 electrostatic tandem accelerator at the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF). The primary target and convertor functions are combined in a beryllium layer 1 mm thick, which can be done if the layer is thicker than the sum of the paths of primary deuterons and secondary tritons. The main problem in measuring the cross sections of activation is the lack of reliable data on the mean energy of tritons produced in the considered reaction. This value is derived from measured triton energy spectra. Spectrometric differential cross sections are obtained for the first time and serve as the basis for calculating total reaction cross sections. Good agreement is shown between the total activation and spectrometric cross sections.