The fission Time Projection Chamber (fissionTPC) is a compact (15 cm diameter) two-chamber MICROMEGAS TPC designed to make precision cross section measurements of neutron-induced fission. The actinide targets are placed on the central cathode and irradiated with a neutron beam that passes axially through the TPC inducing fission in the target. The 4π acceptance for fission fragments and complete charged particle track reconstruction are powerful features of the fissionTPC which will be used to measure fission cross sections and examine the associated systematic errors. This paper provides a detailed description of the design requirements, the design solutions, and the initial performance of the fissionTPC.

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Cross section differences among the isotopes 182,184,186 W have been measured as a part of a study of total cross sections in the 5-560 MeV energy range. These difference measurements show oscillations up to 150 mb between 5 and 100 MeV. Calculations with spherical and deformed phenomenological optical potentials employing standard radial and isospin dependences show much smaller oscillations than the experimental data. In a simple Ramsauer model, this discrepancy can be traced to a cancellation between radial and isospin effects. Understanding this problem requires a more detailed model that incorporates a realistic description of the neutron and proton density distributions. This has been done with the results of Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations using the Gogny force, together with a microscopic folding model employing a modification of the Jeukenne, Lejeune, and Mahaux potential as an effective interaction. This treatment yields a satisfactory interpretation of the observed total cross section differences up to 200 MeV. The calculations have been extended above that energy with a folding model based on an empirical effective interaction.

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