The new Device for Indirect Capture Experiments on Radionuclides at LANSCE: Efforts on measuring the resonance(s) responsible for the extremely large ⁸⁸Zr (n,γ) cross section

¹ Physics division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, NM, USA
² Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, NM, USA
³ Weapon Stockpile Modernization Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, NM, USA
⁴ Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, NM, USA
⁵ X-Computational Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, NM, USA

^* e-mail: athanasios.stamatopoulos@lanl.gov

Published online: 26 May 2023

Abstract

The thermal neutron capture cross section of ⁸⁸Zr was recently reported to be the second largest in nature with the largest resonance integral measured. Presumably, these very large values are caused by a resonance or resonances very near thermal energy. Determining their energies and widths, and hence the shape of the cross section away from thermal energies,is useful for applications. The short half-life (83.4 days) and associated large background, renders direct measurements of the neutron capture cross section impossible using current techniques. However, it is possible to measure the total neutron cross section, and hence the resonance properties, using the newly commissioned Device for Indirect Capture Experiments on Radionuclides (DICER) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Transmission measurements are utilized as a surrogate method to perform capture measurements. The ⁸⁸Zr needed for a DICER measurement was produced at the Isotope Production Facility (IPF) and cleanly separated from the production target material. A description of the new instrument, efforts and preliminary results on ⁸⁸Zr will be presented.