A position-sensitive detector with lithium glass and MaPMT

A position-sensitive detector is designed for neutron detection. It uses a single continuous screen of a self-made lithium glass scintillator, rather than discrete crystal implementations, coupling with a multi-anode PMT (MaPMT). The scintillator is fast and efficient; with a decay time of 34 ns and thermal neutron detection efficiency of around 95.8% for the 3 mm thick screen, and its light yield is around 5670 photons per neutron and 3768 photons per MeV γ rays deposition. The spatial resolution is around 1.6 mm (FWHM) with the energy resolution around 34.7% by using α (5.2 MeV) rays test.     

Monte Carlo simulation of prompt γ-ray spectra from depleted uranium under D-T neutron irradiation and electron recoil spectra in a liquid scintillator detector

To overcome the problem of inefficient computing time and unreliable results in MCNP5 calculation, a two-step method is adopted to calculate the energy deposition of prompt γ-rays in detectors for depleted uranium spherical shells under D-T neutron irradiation. In the first step, the γ-ray spectrum for energy below 7 MeV is calculated by MCNP5 code; secondly, the electron recoil spectrum in a BC501 A liquid scintillator detector is simulated based on EGSnrc Monte Carlo Code with the γ-ray spectrum from the first step as input. The comparison of calculated results with experimental ones shows that the simulations agree well with experiment in the energy region 0.4–3 MeV for the prompt γ-ray spectrum and below 4 MeVee for the electron recoil spectrum. The reliability of the two-step method in this work is validated.     

Timing properties and pulse shape discrimination of LAB-based liquid scintillator

Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) is a promising liquid scintillator solvent in neutrino experiments because it has many appealing properties. The timing properties of LAB-based liquid scintillator have been studied through ultraviolet and ionization excitation in this study. The decay time of LAB, PPO and bis-MSB is found to be 48.6 ns, 1.55 ns and 1.5 ns, respectively. A model can describe the absorption and re-emission process between PPO and bis-MSB perfectly. The energy transfer time between LAB and PPO with different concentrations can be obtained via another model. We also show that the LAB-based liquid scintillator has good (n, γ) and (α, γ) discrimination power.     

大面积PIN探测器性能参数实验测量

利用CFC-67型三通道γ源加速器测量了Ф50mm,Ф60mmPIN探测器的时间响应、线性电流及相对灵敏度,并与理论计算结果进行了比较,验证了实验结果的可靠性。Ф60 mm silicon PIN detector is a large area and high sensitive one which has been developed in near years. Using the type CГC-67 γ accelerator, the parameters of PIN detectors such as time response, linear current and relative sensitivity are measured. The experiment results are compared with the theory calculation. The PIN detector can reach high γefficiency of up to 10^-14-10^-16 C·cm2, the rise time is about 10 ns and the FWHM of the time pulse is about 35 ns. The γ efficiency of the PIN detector may provide the sensitive range between 10^-14-10^-16 C·cm^2 that scintillator ＋ photo tubes detecting system and scintillator ＋ photomul tiplier tubes detecting system is not developed.     

A new method for detecting pulse gamma ray with scattered electrons

This paper describes a newly designed gamma pulse detector of current mode that uses the scattered electron method. Tungsten is used as the scattering target, an organic thin film scintillator ST401 is used to collect the scattered electrons. The spatial distribution of the electronic energy-flux density is studied by using the MCNP code. The optimization of the target and the thickness of the scintillator are also discussed. The results indicate that the energy response is relatively flat in the range of 0.4 to 5 MeV.     

Lifetimes of Excited Levels in ^131Ce

The fusion-evaporation reaction ^116Sn (^19F, p3n)^131 Ce at projectile energy of 95 MeV is used to populate high spin states in ^131Ce. The de-exciting γ-rays are detected in γ-γ coincidence measurement with Compton-suppressed BGO-HPGe detectors. Level lifetimes of ^131 Ce were determined by using the Doppler shift attenuation method.The experimental results indicate that collectivity of ^131 Ce is reduced relative to that of ^130Ce and it follows that deformation decreases with increase of the neutron number on the basis of systematic comparison of transition quadrupole moments for the light cerium isotopes.     

Leptonic Origin of TeV Gamma-Ray Emission from Crab Nebula

We study the nonthermal emission of the Crab nebula in the bands from radio to TeV γ-ray on a simplified timedependent injection model. In this model, relativistic electrons in the Crab nebula consists of two components and their injected spectrum is a broken power law with different indices and a break energy. The relativistic electrons emit nonthermal photons through synchrotron and inverse Compton scattering off soft photon fields inside the nebula. The resulting spectrum calculated with the model is well consistent with the observed data ranging from radio to very high energy γ-rays for the Crab nebula, where the emission from radio to medium γ-rays is from electron＇s synchrotron emission, whereas the emission above ～ 100 MeV primarily comes from the inverse Compton scattering of the relativistic electrons on synchrotron photons.     

Fluence rate linear response limit of a scintillators to γ-rays

Scintillation detectors based on LSO, CeF and PbWO are the main candidates for measuring γ-rays in a mixed γ/n pulsed radiation field with high intensity. An experiment using the Lissajous figure method to study the high fluence rate response behavior of three kinds of commonly used scintillators is introduced in this paper. The result shows that the fluence rate linear response limit of LSO and CeF is 1.9×10¹⁹ and 2.1×10¹⁸MeV/(cm²·s), respectively, and the PbWO scintillator still maintains linear response when the fluence rate of γ-ray is up to 2.0 × 10²⁰ MeV/(cm²·s).     

A possible mechanism for magnetar soft X-ray/γ-ray emission

Once the energies of electrons near the Fermi surface obviously exceed the threshold energy of the inverse β decay,electron capture(EC) dominates inside the magnetar.Since the maximal binding energy of the 3 P 2 neutron Cooper pair is only about 0.048 MeV,the outgoing high-energy neutrons(E k(n) > 60 MeV) created by the EC can easily destroy the 3 P 2 neutron Cooper pairs through the interaction of nuclear force.In the anisotropic neutron superfluid,each 3 P 2 neutron Cooper pair has magnetic energy 2μ n B in the applied magnetic field B,where μ n = 0.966 × 10 23 erg.G 1 is the absolute value of the neutron abnormal magnetic moment.While being destroyed by the high-energy EC neutrons,the magnetic moments of the 3 P 2 Cooper pairs are no longer arranged in the paramagnetic direction,and the magnetic energy is released.This released energy can be transformed into thermal energy.Only a small fraction of the generated thermal energy is transported from the interior to the surface by conduction,and then it is radiated in the form of thermal photons from the surface.After highly efficient modulation within the star’s magnetosphere,the thermal surface emission is shaped into a spectrum of soft X-rays/γ-rays with the observed characteristics of magnetars.By introducing related parameters,we calculate the theoretical luminosities of magnetars.The calculation results agree well with the observed parameters of magnetars.     

Influence of Self-Absorption and Impurities on Scintillation Properties of （Lu0.1Y0.9）A103：Ce Single Crystals

Lu0.1Y0.9AlO3：Ce single crystals in dimensions Φ30×90 mma are successfully grown by the Czochralski method. The light output and energy resolution of the crystal in dimensions Φ14×2mm^3 are 9420 photons/MeV and 12.5% respectively. Dependence of the light output on the thickness of the sample is found and explained by the self-absorption in the range of 320-370nm and the underlying parasitic absorption around 250hm. In addition, the local enrichment of Ce ions and the presence of low-valent impurity ions may cause the deterioration of its light output. In addition, Lu0.1 Y0.9AlO3：Ce has an almost constant fluorescence decay time of 16ns in the temperature range of 80-373 K.     

Scintillating properties of LiYSiO_4:Ce

LiYSiO₄:Ce is a promising scintillator and some of its properties have been reported in previous papers. In this paper, samples doped with different concentrations of Ce are prepared and studied. First, the relative light yields of the samples are measured as 28.1%-37.1% compared with a standard anthracene crystal being irradiated by α particles and as ～ 27.2% compared with NaI being irradiated by X-rays. Second, the effects of sample thicknesses on light yields are presented. Finally the timing behaviors of samples with different doped concentrations being irradiated with alpha particles and X-rays are discussed. The result shows that LiYSiO₄:Ce is a kind of fast scintillator ( ～ 30 ns) with a moderate light yield that can be used for neutron detection.     

A capture-gated fast neutron detection method

To address the problem of the shortage of neutron detectors used in radiation portal monitors(RPMs),caused by the ~3He supply crisis, research on a cadmium-based capture-gated fast neutron detector is presented in this paper. The detector is composed of many 1 cm × 1 cm × 20 cm plastic scintillator cuboids covered by 0.1 mm thick film of cadmium. The detector uses cadmium to absorb thermal neutrons and produce capture γ-rays to indicate the detection of neutrons, and uses plastic scintillator to moderate neutrons and register γ-rays. This design removes the volume competing relationship in traditional ~3He counter-based fast neutron detectors, which hinders enhancement of the neutron detection efficiency. Detection efficiency of 21.66% ± 1.22% has been achieved with a 40.4 cm × 40.4cm × 20 cm overall detector volume. This detector can measure both neutrons and γ-rays simultaneously. A small detector(20.2 cm × 20.2 cm × 20 cm) demonstrated a 3.3 % false alarm rate for a ~(252)Cf source with a neutron yield of 1841 n/s from 50 cm away within 15 s measurement time. It also demonstrated a very low(0.06%) false alarm rate for a 3.21 × 10~5 Bq ~(137)Cs source. This detector offers a potential single-detector replacement for both neutron and the γ-ray detectors in RPM systems.     

Design and gamma sensitivity measurement of a novel dual-emitter vacuum Compton detector

A novel dual-emitter vacuum Compton detector (D-VCD) with higher gamma ray detecting efficiency is proposed. The emitters are made of Ta--Al clad metal. The gamma ray sensitivity is studied by Monte Carlo simulation using the MCNP code. A comparison between calculations and results measured by using the 1.25~MeV gamma ray of Co-60 is also performed. Experimental sensitivities for two sample D-VCDs with the same materials and structures are 1.92×10^ - 20 and 2.02×10^ - 20~C.cm²/MeV separately, which are consistent with the simulation result of 1.98×10^ - 20~C.cm²/MeV and are 4 times higher than that of VCD with a single Fe emitter. According to the simulation results, in a gamma energy range from 0.5 to 3~MeV, the maximum sensitivity variance for the D-VCD is less than 15%, and less than 5% in a range from 1 to 2~MeV in particular. The novel D-VCD is applicable to the detection of intense pulse gamma rays.     

Using a LaBr3:Ce scintillator for positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

A LaBr₃:Ce scintillator has a high light output (~60000 p.e/MeV) and a short decay constant (<25 ns), which makes it good for time spectrometry. Compared with a BaF₂ scintillator, it can bear a much higher count rate, and can be coupled to photomultipliers without using a quartz window. In this work, a positron annihilation lifetime spectrometer (PALS) consisting of two bulks of φ25 mm×25 mm LaBr₃:Ce scintillator coupled to two XP20D0 photomultipliers, respectively, was built. A time resolution of FWHM=206 ps was measured for the PALS with a ⁶⁰Co source at the energy window for ²²Na. With this spectrometer, a reasonable lifetime value τ=221±4 ps in a pure Si sample is obtained, which means that the utilization of LaBr₃:Ce as the detector for a PALS is feasible.     

Energy calibration of a BC501A liquid scintillator using a γ-γ coincidence technique

An accurate energy calibration of a BC501A liquid scintillator by means of Compton scattering of γ-rays is described.The energy resolution and the position of the Compton edge have been precisely determined using a γ-γ coincidence technique and fitting the coincidence spectrum with a Gaussian function superimposed on a quadratic polynomial for the background.The position of the Compton edge relative to the position of the maximum and the half height of the distribution in dependence on the relevant energy resolution is discussed in detail.The results indicate that the maximum energy of the recoil Compton electron does not occur at the half height distribution but at 0.90±0.05 of the maximum height in the energy range considered.The energy resolution varies from 15.6% to 8.02% for electrons in the energy region from 0.5 MeV to 3 MeV.     

Matching Condition in γ-γ Annihilation Absorption

Two-photon annihilation (γ-γ reaction) is an important absorption mechanism in γ-ray physics and γ-ray astronomy. Using the markedly simplified direction-averaged cross section of annihilation σ^-(ω,ω’) for a normal isotropic ambient radiation field around the γ-ray source, we obtain a matching condition for the energies of two interacting photons, which ensures the attainment of the maximum annihilation probability. This is a new result that is helpful to obtain a better understanding for the absorption behaviour in the γ-γ annihilation process,and this predicts some possible line-like absorption structures in the emergent γ-ray continuous spectra. Some inferences of the matching condition are also presented.     

Method for measuring prompt γ-rays generated by D-T neutrons bombarding a depleted uranium spherical shell

The prompt γ-ray spectrum from depleted uranium(DU) spherical shells induced by 14 Me V D-T neutrons is measured. Monte Carlo(MC) simulation gives the largest prompt γ flux with the optimal thickness of the DU spherical shells 3–5 cm and the optimal frequency of neutron pulse 1 MHz. The method of time of flight and pulse shape coincidence with energy(DC-TOF) is proposed, and the subtraction of the background γ-rays discussed in detail. The electron recoil spectrum and time spectrum of the prompt γ-rays are obtained based on a 2 ×2 BC501 A liquid scintillator detector. The energy spectrum and time spectrum of prompt γ-rays are obtained based on an iterative unfolding method that can remove the influence of γ-rays response matrix and pulsed neutron shape.The measured time spectrum and the calculated results are roughly consistent with each other. Experimental promptγ-ray spectrum in the 0.4–3 Me V energy region agrees well with MC simulation based on the ENDF/BVI.5 library,and the discrepancies for the integral quantities of γ-rays of energy 0.4–1 Me V and 1–3 Me V are 9.2% and 1.1%,respectively.     

The Monte-Carlo simulation on a scintillator neutron detector

A simulation of the properties of the shifting scintillator neutron detector using 6LiF/ZnS(Ag) scintillation screens is performed.The simulation results show that the light attenuation length of standard BC704 scintillator is about 0.65 mm.Its thermal neutron detection efficiency,gamma sensitivity and intrinsic spatial resolution can achieve around 50.0%,10 5and 0.18 mm(along X-axis) respectively.For the detector,air coupling position resolution is better than the silicone oil coupling.Some of the simulation results are compared with experimental results.They are in agreement.This work will be helpful for constructing neutron detector for high intensity powder diffractometer at Chinese spallation neutron source.     

Photo-transmutation based on resonance γ-ray source

High intensity γ-ray source can be obtained through resonance reaction induced by protons. In this work, the possibility of using such high intensity MeV-range γ-ray source to transmute nuclear waste is investigated through Mont Carlo simulation.~(197) Au(γ, n)~(196)Au experiment is performed to obtain the transmutation rate and compared with the simulation result. If the current of the proton beam is 10 mA at the resonance energy of 441 keV, with the γ photons emitted from~7 Li(p, γ)~8 Be, then the corresponding transmutation yield for~(129)I in 2π direction can reach 9.4 × 10~9 per hour. The result is compared with that of LCS γ-ray source.     

Shape co-existence and structural evolution of the Vi13/2 band in 157Yb

The high-spin states of 157Yb have been studied via the reaction of 144Sm(16O, 3n) at 16O energy of 90 MeV using techniques of in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. Measurement of γ-γ-t coincidences was performed with 11 BGO(AC)HPGe detectors. Based on the γ-γ coincidence relationships and the measured results of γ-ray anisotropies and DCO ratios, the level scheme for 157Yb was established. The shape co-existence and structural evolution of the Vi13/2 band with increasing angular momentum in 157Yb have been discussed. The systematics of the Vi13/2 bands in the N = 87 odd-A isotones have been compared.