Measurement and analysis of the Am 241 (n, γ) cross section with liquid scintillator detectors using time-of-flight spectroscopy at the n-TOF facility at CERN

Abstract

The Am241(n,γ) cross section has been measured at the n-TOF facility at CERN using deuterated benzene liquid scintillators, commonly known as C6D6 detectors, and time-of-flight spectrometry. The results in the resolved resonance range bring new constraints to evaluations below 150 eV, and the energy upper limit was extended from 150 to 320 eV with a total of 172 new resonances not present in current evaluations. The thermal capture cross section was found to be σth=678±68 b, which is in good agreement with evaluations and most previous measurements. The capture cross section in the unresolved resonance region was extracted in the remaining energy range up to 150 keV, and found to be larger than current evaluations and previous measurements. © 2014 American Physical Society.