Phonon density-of-states in the new superconductor MgB 2

We provide here experimental data on the phonon density-of-states of MgB₂ obtained by the inelastic neutron scattering technique. The measurements were performed for the natural boron-based magnesium diboride with use of a time-of-flight neutron spectrometer. Several phonon bands were observed in the phonon spectrum at energies of about 33, 55, 82 and 99 meV. We show that the cut-off energy of the density-of-states occurs at around 105 meV which is much higher than expected so far from heat-capacity data and partially explains the high T _c value observed for MgB₂. The characteristic phonon energies are indicative of an intermediate coupling regime in this compound. We conclude that a much needed neutron experiment aimed at the study of the isotopic effect in the phonon density-of-states of MgB₂ is conceivable. Received 19 March 2001     

A Gorizont neutron reflectometer—small-angle spectrometer based on the IN-06 pulsed neutron source

The Gorizont time-of-flight neutron reflectometer—small-angle spectrometer has been designed, manufactured, and assembled to operate with the IN-0 6 pulsed neutron source. The instrument has a vertical neutron scattering plane enabling research on liquid surfaces and interfaces. Model calculations of neutron spectra, beam profiles, and spectrometer resolutions have been performed via the Monte Carlo method. The spectrometer operates at wavelengths from 1.5 to 9 Å and ensures measurements in the momentum-transfer range of 0.003—1.5 Å^-1.     

Neutron spectrometer based on a proton telescope with electronic collimation of recoil protons

A prototype of a neutron spectrometer based on a gas proportional counter with recoil-proton registration is created at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (FLNP JINR) in Dubna. The spectrometer is developed to measure the kinetic energy of protons scattered elastically at small angles that are produced by (n, p) reaction in an environment containing hydrogen. The elaborated prototype consists of two cylindrical proportional counters used as cathodes. They are placed in a gas environment with a common centrally situated anode wire. Studies on the characteristics of the neutron spectrometer were conducted using ²⁵²Cf and ²³⁹Pu-Be radioisotope neutron sources. Measurements were made with monoenergetic neutrons produced by the ⁷Li(p, n)⁷Be reaction when a thin lithium target was bombarded with a proton beam from an EG-5 electrostatic accelerator, as well as with neutrons from the reaction D(d, n) ³He with a gas deuterium target.     

An apparatus of the NBC type and the physics results obtained

A nonbubble chamber (NBC) setup, especially designed to perform a series of experiments, is described. The setup consists of a neutron missing-mass spectrometer coupled with a system of large electromagnetic shower detectors. In spite of its large dimensions (the sensitive surface and volume are 2.16 × 10⁴ cm² and 7.8 × 10⁵ cm³, respectively), the neutron spectrometer has a time resolution of ±0.70 nsec FWHM, with ∼25% detection efficiency in the range (70–390 MeV) neutron kinetic energy. The time equalization between the various components of the neutron spectrometer has been established to within ±0.1 nsec. At present this is the most powerful and the most accurate high-energy neutron detector. The electromagnetic shower detector is based on the principle of simultaneous measurements of the spatial development of the electromagnetic cascade and of its energy release. This is obtained with nine elements of lead foil — spark chamber — plastic scintillator, all sandwiched together. The sensitive surface and volume of the electromagnetic shower detector are 1.45 × 10⁴ cm² and 7.2 × 10⁵ cm³, respectively.     

A new simulated neutron workplace field at PIAF

The range of neutron energies encountered at workplaces extends from 10^?2 eV to 10⁷ eV or even higher neutron energies. The monoenergetic neutron calibration fields cover the neutron energy range from 10⁴ eV to 10⁷ eV. Hence calibrations in so-called realistic fields with a broad spectral distribution similar to those at workplaces are still essential for radiation protection equipment.This is the reason why PTB has developed a simulated workplace field. The field is produced using a proton beam on a thick Li or Be target installed in a moderating sphere which produces the intermediate and thermal part of the spectrum. Different target materials and compositions and different constructions of the target were investigated with special focus on the long-term stability of the neutron yield, as well as the stability of the spectral neutron fluence of the primary neutron spectrum. The spectral distribution outside the moderator sphere was measured using the PTB Bonner sphere spectrometer NEMUS and calculated using MCNPX.     

Radiation attenuation and nuclear properties of high density concrete made with steel aggregates

Abstract

The fast neutron and gamma ray spectra measured behind different thickness of steel scrap concrete with density of 4 g/cm³ have been studied. The mix proportions by weight of this type of concrete were 1 cement: 6.89 steel scrap: 2.9 sand and 0.5 Water. Comparison with a standard ordinary concrete of density 2.3 g/cm³ have been carried out. The measurements were made using a collimated beam of both gamma rays and neutrons emitted from one of the horizontal channel of the Egyptian Research Reactor-1. A fast neutron and gamma ray spectrometer with a stilbene crystal was used to measure the spectra of fast neutrons and gamma rays. Pulse shape discrimination using the zero cross over technique was used to separate the photon pulses from the electron pulses. The equation due to Schmidt has been modified and applied for determining the neutron effective removal cross sections (～_R) for steel scrap, ordinary, hematite–serpentine, ilmenite–limonite and ilmenite concretes. This equation gives results which are in good agreement with the measured values. The derived empirical equation in a previous work to calculate the neutron integral flux behind different thicknesses of different types of concretes, gives good results for steel scrap concrete under investigation comparing with the corresponding experimental data. Total neutron macroscopic cross sections, linear attenuation coefficients for gamma rays and the half-value layers for both radiations at different energies have been obtained for steel scrap concrete and comparing with the corresponding values of ordinary concrete. The results show that steel scrap concrete is better than ordinary, hematite–serpentine, ilmenite–limonite and ilmenite concretes from the radiation shielding point of view.     

Neutron scattering from superfluid 4He at very large momentum transfer

Measurements of inelastic neutron scattering from liquid ⁴He were performed at very large momentum transfer (about 150 Å⁻¹) using an eV spectrometer with a pulsed spallation neutron source. A difference in the scattered neutron spectrum measured at 1.2 and 2.5 K was observed for the first time within this momentum-transfer range.     

NEUTRON TIME OF FLIGHT ENERGY SPECTROMETER FOR ICF ION TEMPERATURE DIAGNOSTIC

A current-mode neutron time-of-flight(nTOF) energy spectrometer for inertial confinement fusion(ICF) ion temperature measurements has been designed which will reduce measuring error of fusion neutron energy spectra when the neutron yield is low. The spectrometer consists of a shallow cup-shaped ST1422 fast plastic scintillator with a thicknees of 3mm and full effective volume of 104cm³, a microchannel plate photomultiplier tube(MCP-PMT), a piece of coaxial cable(SUJ-50-7) with a length of 20m, and a transient oscilloscope with a bandwidth of 7GHz. The main performances of the spectrometer and its components have been calibrated. The rise-time and FWHM of the temporal response function are 260ps and 850 ps, respectively. This spectrometer will be used to measure ion temperature in the direct-driven implosion experiments on Sheng-Guang 2 laser facility at Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanica(SIOFM) next year.     

Spherical neutron polarimetry applied to spin-echo and time-of-flight spectroscopy

The changes in direction of the neutron spin that take place on scattering by a magnetic interaction vector are highly dependent on their relative directions. In some circumstances, without zero-field polarimeter, it is impossible to distinguish between a simple depolarisation and a rotation of the polarisation vector.Motivated by the investigation of chiral magnetic fluctuations, we have implemented the third-generation zero-field polarimeter Cryopad on the neutron spin-echo spectrometer SPAN at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HCB). We present the method and the limitations of this novel technique that is now available on IN15 at the ILL.The huge progress accomplished with ³He neutron spin filters/flippers are going to facilitate the exploitation of polarised beams at spallation sources. Zero-field polarimeters like Cryopad are used routinely at several steady-state sources but their design would be inefficient at a pulse source. We have investigated the possibility to implement a zero-field polarimeter on a time-of-flight spectrometer. We propose a design that would lead to a better efficiency and present the finite element calculations.     

Kinetic energy spectrum and polarization of neutrons from the reaction 12C(p,n)X at 590 MeV

Abstact: The kinetic energy spectrum and the polarization of the PSI neutron beam produced in the reaction ¹²C(p,n)X at 0° with 590 MeV polarized protons were investigated. A strong energy dependence of the neutron beam polarization is observed which was not expected at the time the neutron beam was built. Received: 3 April 1998     

Neutron scattering and neutron emission cross sections on 27Al, 93Nb and 209Bi at 7 MeV

Elastic and inelastic neutron scattering and neutron emission at 7 MeV incident energy has been studied for monoisotopic samples of ²⁷Al, ⁹³Nb and ²⁰⁹Bi. Time-of-flight spectra were taken at nine angles between 30° and 140° using the beam-swinger spectrometer. The efficiency of the neutron detectors was maximized using a dynamic bias; low background was obtained throughout the neutron energy detected which correspond to about 6 MeV excitation energy. The data were converted to energy spectra and corrected for sample attenuation, finite geometry and multiple scattering. For unresolved states the data were averaged over 0.5 MeV energy bins. Calculations for elastic and inelastic transitions and for compound and precompound processes are presented.     

Triangular antiferromagnetic order in the honeycomb layer lattice of

ErCl₃ crystallizes in the AlCl₃-type layer structure. The crystal structure was refined in the paramagnetic state by powder neutron diffraction. The monoclinic lattice parameters at 1.5 K are a = 6.8040(3)?, b = 11.7456(5)?, c = 6.3187(3)? and . The space group is C2/m. Short-range, predominantly in-plane, magnetic ordering occurs above 350 mK up to several Kelvin. Below mK a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic order with a propagation vector of sets in. The magnetic structure of ErCl₃ was determined by powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction at temperatures down to 45 mK. The Er³⁺ ions are located on two-dimensional honeycomb layers in the a–b plane. There are two antiferromagnetically coupled triangular sublattices which form right- and left-handed helices along the c-axis. The magnetic moments are oriented in the a–b plane and amount to 3.3(1) at saturation. From the temperature dependence of the integrated neutron magnetic peak intensity a critical exponent (2) was derived for the magnetic phase transition. Received 1 December 1999 and Received in final form 21 July 2000     

Developments of nano-polycrystalline diamond anvil cells for neutron diffraction experiments

ABSTRACT

A new high pressure cell for neutron diffraction experiments using nano-polycrystalline anvils is presented. The cell design, off-line pressure generation tests and a gas-loading procedure for this cell are described. The performance is illustrated by powder neutron diffraction patterns of ice VII to ～82?GPa. We also demonstrate the feasibility of single crystal neutron diffraction experiments of Fe₃O₄ at ambient conditions using this cell and discuss the current limitation and future developments.     

ΔT-window neutron spectrometer

A high resolution neutron spectrometer making use of a ΔT-window filter for the analyser and time-of-flight technique for analysing incident neutron energy has been designed. The spectrometer will provide a continuously variable energy resolution ΔE from 40–50μeV at ∼ 5230μeV. The range of energy transfer allowed is −1450μeV to +2950μeV and the range of wavevector transferQ allowed is 0·82–3·06 ?⁻¹. Depending on the resolution used, the counting rates are expected to vary from 28–60 × 10³ counts/hr if one assumes 10% isotropic elastic scattering from the sample.     

Neutron fluence spectrometry using disk activation

A simple and robust detector for spectrometry of environmental neutrons has been developed. The technique is based on neutron activation of a series of different metal disks followed by low-level gamma-ray spectrometry of the activated disks and subsequent neutron spectrum unfolding. The technique is similar to foil activation but here the applied neutron fluence rates are much lower than usually in the case of foil activation. The detector has been tested in quasi mono-energetic neutron fields with fluence rates in the order of 1000–10000 cm⁻² s⁻¹, where the obtained spectra showed good agreement with spectra measured using a Bonner sphere spectrometer. The detector has also been tested using an AmBe source and at a neutron fluence rate of about 40 cm⁻² s⁻¹, again, a good agreement with the assumed spectrum was achieved.     

Ceramic high pressure cell with profiled anvils for neutron diffraction investigations (up to 7 GPa)

Abstract

A high pressure cell with profiled anvils for neutron diffraction investigations has been designed and tested. The matrices of the cell are made of alloyed aluminium oxide ceramic. The reliable working pressure range of the cell is up to 7 GPa at a sample volume of 64 mm³. The cell attenuates the neutron flux not more than four times, with the transmission of the cell very slightly depending on neutron wavelength.     

CdZnTe <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">γ</Emphasis> detector for deep inelastic neutron scattering on the VESUVIO spectrometer

In this paper it is shown that solid-state cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) is a promising photon detector for neutron spectroscopy in a wide energy interval, ranging from thermal (25 meV) to epithermal (70 eV) neutron energies. In the present study two CZT detectors were tested as part of the inverse-geometry neutron spectrometer VESUVIO operating at the ISIS pulsed neutron source. The response of the CZT detector to photon emission from radiative neutron capture in ²³⁸U was determined by biparametric measurements of neutron time of flight and photon energy. The scattering response function F(y) from a Pb sample has been derived using both CZT and conventional ⁶Li-glass scintillator detectors. The former showed both an improved signal to background ratio and higher efficiency as compared to ⁶Li glass, allowing us to measure F(y) up to the fourth ²³⁸U absorption energy (E_r=66.02 eV). Due to the small size of CZT detectors, their use is envisaged in arrays, with high spatial resolution, for neutron-scattering studies at high energy (>1 eV) and low wavevector (q <10 Å^-1) transfers. PACS 29.30.Hs; 29.30.Kv; 29.40.Kw; 61.12.Ek     

Radiation damage in triglycine sulphate due to fast neutron irradiation

Abstract

The change in electrical properties of TGS crystals due to induced defects created by fast neutron irradiation of two different energies (2 and 14 MeV) and different integrated neutron fluxes have been studied in the vicinity of phase transition. It is observed that the electrical conductivity increases with increase of neutron fluence up to 1.7 × 10¹⁰ n · cm^?2 and the values of the relative change of electrical conductivity in case of 2 MeV are higher than that of 14 MeV neutrons at the same neutron fluence (φ)     

填充式方钴矿化合物CeOs4Sb12近藤相互作用的非弹性中子散射研究

CeOs₄Sb₁₂晶体中由于导电电子与Ce³⁺ 4f¹电子之间存在c-f杂化作用导致费米面附近存在能量间隙.这种c-f近藤相互作用和能量间隙是理解CeOs₄Sb₁₂物理性质，如近藤绝缘体行为、Ce³⁺磁矩在低温下猝灭以及重费米性等电、磁性质的关键.当用LAM-D中子谱仪对粉末CeOs₄Sb₁₂进行测量时，可以得到不同温度下CeOs₄Sb₁₂的非弹性中子散射谱.结果表明CeOs₄Sb₁₂中存在近藤相互作用，其作用强度为3.1 meV，证实了CeOs₄Sb₁₂为近藤绝缘体.中子测量得出CeOs₄Sb₁₂德拜温度为317 K. 关键词： 非弹性中子散射 填充式方钴矿 近藤绝缘体     

New measurements of the neutron electric dipole moment

We report a new measurement of the neutron electric dipole moment with the PNPI EDM spectrometer using the ultracold neutron source PF2 at the research reactor of the ILL. Its first results can be interpreted as a limit on the neutron electric dipole moment of |d _n | < 5.5 × 10^?26 e cm (90% confidence level).