The measurement of the 80Kr(n,p)80mBr reaction cross-section for the d-T neutrons using highly enriched gas target

Abstract

The cross sections of the ⁸⁰Kr(n,p)^80mBr reaction were measured through the secondary decay of the residual nucleus ^80mBr at the neutron energies of 13.59, 13.86, 14.13, 14.70, and 14.94 MeV. The characteristic gamma-ray of 616.3 keV energy emitted by ^80gBr was selected to determine the activity of the residual nucleus ^80mBr. The spherical target sample is a highly enriched, pure, and high-pressure ⁸⁰Kr isotope gas. The self-absorption of a 616.3 keV energy gamma ray, the geometry of the spherical sample, and the solid angle of the sample were corrected. The K-400 neutron generator of the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) was used for this experiment. The reaction T(d,n)⁴He provides quasi-monoenergetic neutrons. The neutron fluence was monitored using the monitor reaction ²⁷Al(n,α)²⁴Na, which has a threshold energy similar to ⁸⁰Kr(n,p)^80mBr reaction. The activity of the irradiated ⁸⁰Kr samples was determined using a high-purity germanium detector with high resolution and an off-line gamma spectrum technique. The covariance analysis was performed to determine the total uncertainty of the cross-section and the correlation matrix. The measured cross sections of ⁸⁰Kr(n,p)^80mBr reaction were compared with the previously reported experimental results, the theoretical results of the TALYS-1.96 simulation, and the evaluation results. In this experiment, the ⁸⁰Kr(n,p)^80mBr reaction cross section obtained over a wide energy range is extremely useful for testing the nuclear theoretical model and strengthening the nuclear database.