The ³H(d,γ)⁵He Reaction for E_c.m. ≤ 300 keV

¹ Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
² Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA

^a e-mail: cp260509@ohio.edu
^b deceased

Published online: 25 March 2016

Abstract

The ³H(d, γ)⁵He reaction has been measured using a 500-keV pulsed deuteron beam incident on a stopping titanium tritide target at Ohio University’s Edwards Accelerator Laboratory. The time-of-flight (TOF) technique has been used to distinguish the γ-rays from neutrons detected in the bismuth germinate (BGO) γ-ray detector. A stilbene scintillator and an NE-213 scintillator have been used to detect the neutrons from the ³H(d, n)⁴He reaction using both the pulse-shape discrimination and TOF techniques. A newly-designed target holder with a silicon surface barrier detector to simultaneously measure α-particles to normalize the neutron count was incorporated for subsequent measurements. The γ-rays have been measured at laboratory angles of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°. Information about the γ-ray energy distribution for the unbound ground state and first excited state of ⁵He can be obtained experimentally by comparing the BGO data to Monte Carlo simulations. The ³H(d, γ)/³H(d, n) branching ratio has also been determined.