Cross Section Measurements at LANSCE for Defense, Science and Applications

M.S. H855, Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

^a Corresponding author: rnelson@lanl.gov

Published online: 28 May 2015

Abstract

The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) has three neutron sources that are used for nuclear science measurements. These sources are driven by an 800 MeV proton linear accelerator and cover an energy range from sub-thermal to hundreds of MeV. Research at the facilities is performed under the auspices of a US DOE user program under which research proposals are rated for merit by a program advisory committee and are scheduled based on merit and availability of beam time. A wide variety of instruments is operated at the neutron flight paths at LANSCE including neutron detector arrays, gamma-ray detector arrays, fission fragment detectors, and charged particle detectors. These instruments provide nuclear data for multiple uses that range from increasing knowledge in fundamental science to satisfying data needs for diverse applications such as nuclear energy, global security, and industrial applications. Highlights of recent research related to cross sections measurements are presented, and future research initiatives are discussed.