High-quality single crystals for neutron experiments

To make headway on any problem in physics, high-quality single crystals are required. In this talk, special emphasis will be placed on the crystal growth of various oxides (superconductors and magnetic materials), borides and carbides using the image furnaces at Warwick. The floating zone method of crystal growth used in these furnaces produces crystals of superior quality, circumventing many of the problems associated with, for example, flux growth from the melt. This method enables the growth of large volumes of crystal, a prerequisite especially for experiments using neutron beams. Some examples of experimental results from crystals grown at Warwick, selected from numerous in-house studies and our collaborative research projects with other UK and international groups will be discussed.      

Inelastic neutron scattering and lattice dynamics studies in complex solids

At Trombay, lattice dynamics studies employing coherent inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments have been carried out at the two research reactors, CIRUS and Dhruva. While the early work at CIRUS involved many elemental solids and ionic molecular solids, recent experiments at Dhruva have focussed on certain superconductors (cuprates and intermetallics), geophysically important minerals (Al₂SiO₅, ZrSiO₄, MnCO₃) and layered halides (BaFCl, ZnCl₂). In most of the studies, theoretical modelling of lattice dynamics has played a significant role in the interpretation and analysis of the results from experiments. This talk summarises the developments and current activities in the field of inelastic neutron scattering and lattice dynamics at Trombay.     

Recent experimental aspects of the structure and dynamics of liquid and supercooled water

Liquid water, the most familiar liquid, is still not completely understood, even less so all the processes in which it participates. The directionality of the bonds and quantum aspects make the establishment of a complete theory difficult, particularly in the case of effective potentials built with spherical electrostatic forces. Recent work has focused on the hydrogen bonds formed between water molecules or with hydrophilic substrates. We describe the present situation of research concerning the so-called anomalies of liquid water at low temperature. Although without direct applications, this problem is consistently an object of discussion, enhanced by results from molecular dynamics simulations. Conversely, because in many situations where water plays a major role, such as, for example, in biology, only a few molecules are involved, the study of confined water is extremely important, sometimes decoupled from the more fundamental studies of bulk water. A short, but far from exclusive, summary of some of the more active domains of research concerning liquid water is given, mainly concerning interactions with other media.     

Basic to industrial research on neutron platform in Japan

The co-location of reactor- and accelerator-based neutron sources offers a great opportunity for complementary use of steady and pulsed neutron beams in a wide variety of neutron science and technology areas ranging from basic research to industrial applications. In Japan, such a balance of two kinds of neutron sources has a long tradition and now we are entering into a new era with the commissioning of the world’s most intense pulsed neutron beams at JSNS/J-PARC plus the existing JRR-3 reactor both co-located within 1 km of each other in Tokai. The joint operation of these neutron facilities in close proximity under a program called ‘neutron platform’, will allow neutron beam access not only to professional users, familiar with both pulsed and steady state techniques but also to first-time academics and industrial researchers to neutron scattering.      

Spatial modulation of a neutron beam by Larmor precession

We modulated the intensity of a neutron beam using Larmor precession techniques. We simulated triangular coils by using magnetised foils in electromagnets with rectangular pole shoes. Reversing the orientation of two of the magnetised foils in the spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering (SESANS)-instrument in Delft and changing the field settings was sufficient to obtain a modulation with a period in the order of 1 mm. We expect to be able to go to a modulation with a period of .This technique can be used to measure small-angle neutron scattering, analogous to the method used in SESANS, but with the advantage that all the manipulation of the neutron spin occurs before the sample. This means that the technique is insensitive to magnetic perturbations at the sample position. By positioning several of these devices after each other it will be possible to obtain a sharper modulation, or a modulation in two directions.     

Role of IUC-DAEF in promoting neutron beam research in India

Inter University Consortium for Department of Atomic Energy Facilities (IUC-DAEF) is an autonomous institute of the University Grants Commission and provides an interface between the university fraternity and the institutions of Department of Atomic Energy. Mumbai Centre of IUC-DAEF promotes and supports the use of neutron facilities at Dhruva reactor by the university scientists. To augment the existing neutron scattering facilities, IUC-DAEF has developed a neutron beam line at Dhruva reactor. The present paper gives a brief survey of the activities and achievements of Mumbai Centre of IUC-DAEF.     

Dynamic nuclear polarization system for the SANS-J-II spectrometer at JAEA

We have developed a dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) system for the SANS-J-II spectrometer at the JRR-3 atomic research reactor of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The DNP system is composed of a split-type horizontal superconducting magnet (3.3 T), a Gunn oscillator as a microwave source (94 GHz), and a cryostat (1.2 K). In particular, a sample cell with 40 in inner diameter and the magnet with a field homogeneity of 5×10⁻⁵ in a volume of 25 mm×8 mm were employed to polarize samples with a diameter of 20 mm for the ultra small-angle scattering experiment using the magnetic lens installed at the SANS-J-II spectrometer [S. Koizumi, H. Iwase, J. Suzuki, T. Oku, R. Motokawa, H. Sasao, H. Tanaka, D. Yamaguchi, H.M. Shimizu, T. Hashimoto, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 40 (2007) s474]. We obtained the proton polarization |P|=32% in the polyethylene doped with 2,2,6,6-tetra-methyl-piperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO).     

中子三轴谱仪的原理、技术与应用

中子作为一种具有独特性质的亚原子粒子,在很多研究领域都具有重要且无法替代的优势.中子三轴谱仪通过能量守恒和动量守恒原理就可以测量某一系统的弹性或非弹性散射性质,从而获得该系统的结构或动力学信息.中子三轴谱仪得名于其3个核心部分:单色器、样品和分析器,每一部分都可以独立转动.由于三轴谱仪在物理学尤其是凝聚态物理学研究中所发挥的重要作用,中国科学院物理研究所将联合中国原子能科学研究院,在后者新建成的中国先进研究堆搭建一台现代化的热中子三轴谱仪.文章结合该谱仪,介绍了中子三轴谱仪的基本原理、技术以及应用范围.     

Review of recent results in deep inelastic scattering

This talk gives a summary of recent results in deep inelastic lepton hadron scattering. This includes structure functions from inclusive measurements as well as fragmentation in semi-inclusive processes, mainly with respect to data from colliders such as HERA at DESY, and their associated phenomenology.     

Study on scattering correction in fast neutron tomography at NECTAR facility

Fast neutron tomography has been established as an inspection and detection tool at the NECTAR facility at the FRM-II reactor.Scattered neutrons from the object become a major disturbance and bring in artifacts and deviations in reconstruction results,especially for hydrogenous material object.In this article,an iterative scattering correction method for fast neutron tomography was proposed.In each loop of iteration the scattering component of the projections will be simulated by Monte-Carlo program MCNPX based on the previous reconstruction result and then it will be subtracted from original projections.The differences between scattering components at different perspectives were quantitatively evaluated and an average scattering component image was used for all projections finally.Smooth and uniform slices with more clear edges were obtained and the new reconstructed attenuation coefficients are quite close to the real one compared to the results without scattering correction,in which case the relative error of the reconstructed attenuation coefficients is about 10%–30%.     

SANS investigation on evolution of pore morphology for varying sintering time in porous ceria

Precipitates of ceria were synthesized by homogeneous precipitation method using cerium nitrate and hexamethylenetetramine at 80°C. The precipitates were ground to fine particles of average size ∼0.7 μm. Circular disks with 10 mm diameter, 2 and 3 mm thickness were prepared from the green compacts by sintering at 1300° C for three different sintering times. Evolution of the pore structures in these specimens with sintering time was investigated by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The results show that the peak of the pore size distribution shifts towards the larger size with increasing sintering time although the extent of porosity decreases. This indicates that finer pores are eliminated from the system at a faster rate than the coarser ones as sintering proceeds and some of the finer pores coalesce to form bigger ones.     

Small-angle neutron and dynamic light scattering study of gelatin coacervates

The state of intermolecular aggregates and that of folded gelatin molecules could be characterized by dynamic laser light and small-angle neutron scattering experiments, which implied spontaneous segregation of particle sizes preceding coacervation, which is a liquid-liquid phase transition phenomenon. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) data analysis revealed two particle sizes until precipitation was reached. The smaller particles having a diameter of ～50 nm (stable nanoparticles prepared by coacervation method) were detected in the supernatant, whereas the inter-molecular aggregates having a diameter of ～400 nm gave rise to coacervation. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments revealed that typical mesh size of the networks exist in polymer dense phase (coacervates) [1]. Analysis of the SANS structure factor showed the presence of two length scales associated with this system that were identified as the correlation length or mesh size, ξ = 10.6 Å of the network and the other is the size of inhomogeneities = 21.4 Å. Observations were discussed based on the results obtained from SANS experiments performed in 5% (w/v) gelatin solution at 60°C (ξ = 50 Å, ζ = 113 Å) and 5% (w/v) gel at 28°C (ξ = 47 Å, ζ = 115 Å) in aqueous phase [2] indicating smaller length scales in coacervate as compared to sol and gel.     

Pressure-induced structural transition of nonionic micelles

We report dynamic light scattering and small angle neutron scattering studies of the pressure-induced structural transition of nonionic micelles of surfactant polyoxyethylene 10 lauryl ether (C12E10) in the pressure range 0 to 2000 bar. Measurements have been performed on 1 wt% C12E10 in aqueous solution with and without the addition of KF. Micelles undergo sphere to lamellar structural transitions as the pressure is increased. On addition of KF, rod-like micelles exist at ambient pressure, which results in rod-like to lamellar structural transition at a much lower pressure in the presence of KF. Micellar structural transitions have been observed to be reversible.      

中子散射对快中子照相质量影响的分析

通过一内空的圆柱体模型，对在快中子照相时由样品引起的散射中子强度与样品形状和探测距离之间的关系进行模拟，并用^241Am—Be作中子源对散射中子的影响进行实验验证。结果表明，在快中子照相时，由样品引起的散射中子的强度与探测距离以及样品形状有关。对于同一样品，探测距离增加，散射中子的影响则降低。The relationships between intensities of scattered neutrons by specimens and their shapes and detecting distances have been simulated using a hollow cylinder model, and the results were validated by experiments of fast neutron imaging using ^241Am-Be neutron source. The results showed that the intensities of scattered neutrons are closely related to the detecting distances and sample＇ s shapes. The influences of scattered neutronns in fast neutron imaging will be reduced while detecting distances increased.     

14MeV中子照相中散射中子对成像影响的Monte Carlo模拟

依据实验参数，建立了14MeV快中子照相的物理模型，并利用Monte Carlo方法对照相过程进行了模拟. 分析了经聚乙烯样品散射的中子对快中子图像的影响随样品与探测器间距及样品参数的变化. 计算结果表明，样品与探测器的距离d<5cm时，样品中的散射中子对图像的影响强烈依赖于d，而当d>20cm时，样品散射中子对图像的影响可忽略；当样品密度为3—5g/cm³时散射中子对图像的影响相对最大；样品宽度越大，图像中的散射成分越多，当宽度在3cm以上时散射成分的强度趋于饱和. 关键词： 14MeV中子 快中子照相 散射中子 Monte Carlo模拟     

5单元中子散射相机仿真研究

采用粒子输运程序MCNP与FORTRAN,MATLAB程序相结合,对一种5单元结构的中子散射相机原型进行了蒙特卡罗模拟,对252Cf裂变中子源进行了图像、能量的重建。结果表明:该相机的能量分辨力为9%左右,角分辨与闪烁体的体积有关;中子能量为2 MeV左右时,散射相机的探测效率达到最大值;源的距离、闪烁体尺寸、前后面板距离、事件数等对重建图像的分辨力都有不同程度的影响;散射相机可以获得裂变中子源的能谱形状,但系统的结构、探测阈值等会使能谱测量造成一定的偏差。该理论工作的结论可推广到由更多单元组成的散射相机中使用。     

Effect of substitution on aniline in inducing growth of anionic micelles

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements were carried out on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles in the presence of three different hydrophobic salts, i.e. aniline hydrochloride,o-toluidine hydrochloride andm-toluidine hydrochloride. All these salts induce a uniaxial growth of micelles to form prolate ellipsoidal structures. A progressive decrease in the surface charge of the micelles was observed with the addition of salts followed by a rapid growth of the micelles. The presence of a methyl substitution at the ortho position of aniline does not alter the growth behavior significantly. However, when the substitution is at meta position micellar growth is favored at lower salt concentration than that is observed for aniline. This can be explained in terms of the difference in the chemical environments of the substituents at the ortho and meta positions.     

Lowx physics and structure functions

In this talk I review the behaviour of structure functions at low values of Bjorkenx and discuss the theoretical underpinnings with particular attention to resummation schemes. I present the need for ‘less inclusive’ events to distinguish between various resummation schemes and discuss the various difficulties in differentiating experimentally between different schemes.