Preliminary scattering kernels for ethane and triphenylmethane at cryogenic temperatures

Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Argentina

^a e-mail: cantargi@cab.cnea.gov.ar

Published online: 13 September 2017

Abstract

Two potential cold moderator materials were studied: ethane and triphenylmethane. The first one, ethane (C₂H₆), is an organic compound which is very interesting from the neutronic point of view, in some respects better than liquid methane to produce subthermal neutrons, not only because it remains in liquid phase through a wider temperature range (T_f = 90.4 K, T_b = 184.6 K), but also because of its high protonic density together with its frequency spectrum with a low rotational energy band. Another material, Triphenylmethane is an hydrocarbon with formula C₁9H₁₆ which has already been proposed as a good candidate for a cold moderator. Following one of the main research topics of the Neutron Physics Department of Centro Atómico Bariloche, we present here two ways to estimate the frequency spectrum which is needed to feed the NJOY nuclear data processing system in order to generate the scattering law of each desired material. For ethane, computer simulations of molecular dynamics were done, while for triphenylmethane existing experimental and calculated data were used to produce a new scattering kernel. With these models, cross section libraries were generated, and applied to neutron spectra calculation.