Measurement of 134Xe(n,2n)133m,gXe reaction cross sections in 14-MeV region with detailed uncertainty quantification

First measurement of the (n,n′) reactions cross section in the 14 MeV regions using highly enriched 129,131Xe isotopes

“…The experimental facility for this study was provided by the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP). Neutron irradiation of the samples was carried out for 2 h using a neutron generator (K-400 from CAEP) with a neutron yield within the range of (4 ∼ 5) × 10 10 neutrons per second (n/s) [8]. The 14 MeV neutrons were generated through the 3 H(d,n) 4 He reaction, employing a beam current of 220 μA and deuteron beam energy of 135 keV [9].…”

“…Second, the decay diagrams of the daughter nuclei, 129m Xe and 131m Xe, generated by the nuclear reactions 129 Xe(n,n′) 129m Xe and 131 Xe(n,n′) 131m Xe, are remarkably simple, and their characteristic gamma rays remain unaffected by external factors, such as the coincidence sums (see figures 1 and 2) [6,7]. Third, in contrast to the natural abundance of xenon gas as the target material, the use of highly enriched isotopes ( 129 Xe and 131 Xe) as the targets can effectively prevent nuclear reactions 129 Xe(n,n′) 129m Xe and 131 Xe(n,n′) 131m Xe from being influenced by the nuclear reactions 130 Xe(n,2n) 129m Xe and 132 Xe(n,2n) 131m Xe [8,9]. Fourth, nuclear fusion has emerged as an economically viable and reliable energy source, drawing significant attention in recent years due to the scarcity of safe energy sources.…”

Calculation of microscopic nuclear level densities based on covariant density functional theory

“…Nuclear level density (NLD) is the basic physics input for nuclear reactions. It is the key ingredient for the calculation of reaction cross sections relevant for nucleosynthesis [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The study of NLDs can date back to 1930's with Bethe's pioneering work [7].…”