Measurement of the (CM)-C-244 and (CM)-C-246 neutron-induced capture cross sections at the n_TOF facility
Abstract
The neutron capture reactions of the Cm-244 and Cm-246 isotopes open the path for the formation of heavier Cm isotopes and heavier elements such as Bk and Cf in a nuclear reactor. In addition, both isotopes belong to the minor actinides with a large contribution to the decay heat and to the neutron emission in irradiated fuels.
There are only two previous Cm-244 and Cm-246 capture cross section measurements: one in 1969 using a nuclear explosion [1] and the most recent data measured at J-PARC in 2010 [2]. The data for both isotopes are very scarce due to the difficulties in performing the measurements: high intrinsic activity of the samples and limited facilities capable of providing isotopically enriched samples.
We have measured both neutron capture cross sections at the n_TOF Experimental Area 2 (EAR-2) with three C6D6 detectors and also at Area 1 (EAR-1) with the TAC. Preliminary results assessing the quality and limitations (background subtraction, measurement technique and counting statistics) of this new experimental datasets are presented and discussed.