University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Investigation of the Photoneutron Cross Section in Lead-206 and Lead-208 From 9 to 16 Mev (Photon, Statistical, Decay, Giant Resonance)

Morford, Larry Joe

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Description

Title
Investigation of the Photoneutron Cross Section in Lead-206 and Lead-208 From 9 to 16 Mev (Photon, Statistical, Decay, Giant Resonance)
Author(s)
Morford, Larry Joe
Issue Date
1985
Department of Study
Physics
Discipline
Physics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Physics, Nuclear
Language
eng
Abstract
  • The time of flight of photoneutrons from ('206)Pb and ('208)Pb was observed at scattering angles of 55(DEGREES), 90(DEGREES), and 125(DEGREES). Photons with energies between 9 and 16 MeV were used to excite the target nuclei. The incident photon beam was provided by the University of Illinois Tagged Photon Facility and had an effective energy resolution of around 400 keV. Neutron energies were determined by time of flight through a 1.5 meter path. The effective energy resolution of the neutrons was between 7.6% at 1 MeV and 12.5% at 5 MeV. Neutron detector efficiency was determined by measuring the photo-disintegration of deuterium. The resulting efficiency was found to be constant across the neutron energy range of interest. The fraction of neutrons with energy insufficient to pass the detector threshold was estimated to be 10.7%.
  • The total cross section for both ('206)Pb and ('208)Pb are well described by Lorentzian curves with widths of 4.12 (+OR-) 0.24 MeV for ('206)Pb and 4.09 (+OR-) 0.38 MeV for ('208)Pb. The peak positions of the curves were determined to be 13.70 (+OR-) 0.06 MeV for ('206)Pb and 13.53 (+OR-) 0.05 MeV in ('208)Pb. No angular asymmetry about 90(DEGREES) in the differential cross sections was detected in either element above 11 MeV. Below 11 MeV the asymmetry varied with energy between alternate positive and negative values for each element.
  • The time-of-flight spectra could be parameterized for low energy neutrons by a statistical decay with a nuclear temperature of 0.9 MeV. There was an excess of high energy neutrons above this distribution. A more detailed analysis of the spectra using the Hauser-Feshbach formalism suggests that this excess is also from the statistical decay of the nucleus.
Graduation Semester
1985
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/77385

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