The Neutron Time-of-Flight Cross Section Program at the University of Kentucky - Adventures in Analysis II

¹ U.S. Naval Academy, Department of Physics, Annapolis, Maryland 21402 USA
² University of Dallas, Department of Physics, Irving, Texas 75062 USA
³ University of Kentucky, Department of Chemistry, Lexington, Kentucky 40506 USA
⁴ University of Kentucky, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Lexington, Kentucky 40506 USA

^a e-mail: vanhoy@usna.edu
^b e-mail: hicks@udallas.edu
^c e-mail: marcus@uky.edu
^d e-mail: yates@uky.edu

Published online: 28 May 2015

Abstract

Elastic and inelastic neutron differential cross sections are measured at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory (www.pa.uky.edu/accelerator/) at incident energies in the fast neutron region. The labo- ratorys facilities and instrumentation will be described and our measurement and analysis procedures outlined. Many corrections are required for neutron scattering experiments and the analysis utilizes information from many other cross section data sets and model calculations. Exploring and understanding the limitations of the foundational information and procedures are important for controlling the accuracy of the cross section results. We are examining the limitations in neutron detection efficiency, the normalization of (n,n′γ) cross sections,background reduction, spectrum stripping techniques, and attenuation and multiple scattering corrections. The resulting differential cross sections provide information on the compound elastic and coupled channels reaction mechanisms important for advanced reactor designs