Neutron cross-sections for advanced nuclear systems: the n_TOF project at CERN

¹ Istituto Nazionale Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, V. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
² Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Germany
³ Uniwersytet Łódzki, Lodz, Poland
⁴ Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/IN2P3 – IPN, Orsay, France
⁵ Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain
⁶ Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
⁷ Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique (CEA) Saclay – Irfu, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁸ European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland
⁹ University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia
¹¹ Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
¹² Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
¹³ Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
¹⁴ National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece
¹⁵ Instituto de Física Corpuscular, CSIC-Universidad de Valencia, Spain
¹⁶ Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
¹⁷ Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
¹⁸ Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
¹⁹ Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, India
²⁰ Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Austria
²¹ University of York, Heslington, York, UK
²² Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Campus Nord, Institut für Kernphysik, Karlsruhe, Germany
²³ Department of Physics, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
²⁴ University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Austria
²⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bologna and Sezione INFN di Bologna, Italy
²⁶ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy
²⁷ Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile (ENEA), Bologna, Italy
²⁸ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Trieste, Italy
²⁹ Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering – IFIN HH, Bucharest – Magurele, Romania
³⁰ European Commission JRC, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, 244 Geel, Belgium
³¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

^a Corresponding author: massimo.barbagallo@ba.infn.it

Published online: 10 December 2014

Abstract

The study of neutron-induced reactions is of high relevance in a wide variety of fields, ranging from stellar nucleosynthesis and fundamental nuclear physics to applications of nuclear technology. In nuclear energy, high accuracy neutron data are needed for the development of Generation IV fast reactors and accelerator driven systems, these last aimed specifically at nuclear waste incineration, as well as for research on innovative fuel cycles. In this context, a high luminosity Neutron Time Of Flight facility, n_TOF, is operating at CERN since more than a decade, with the aim of providing new, high accuracy and high resolution neutron cross-sections. Thanks to the features of the neutron beam, a rich experimental program relevant to nuclear technology has been carried out so far. The program will be further expanded in the near future, thanks in particular to a new high-flux experimental area, now under construction.