Development and Validation of the 7Li(p,n) Nuclear Data Library and Its Application in Monitoring of Intermediate Energy Neutrons

TL;DR

This paper develops and validates a comprehensive nuclear data library for the 7Li(p,n) reaction at intermediate energies, improving neutron spectrum predictions and their application in neutron monitoring.

Contribution

It introduces new systematics for neutron spectra from 7Li(p,n) reactions and validates them through experimental data and fission cross section folding.

Findings

Neutron spectra predictions agree with experimental data

Fission event distributions match observed data

Empirical correction factors improve model accuracy

Abstract

Systematics have been created for neutron spectra from the 7Li(p,n) reaction at 0 deg in the 50-200 MeV proton energy region. The available experimental data in the continuum part of the spectra show satisfactory overall agreement with a representation based on the phase-space distribution corresponding to the three-body breakup process 7Li(p,n3He)4He, with empirical correction factors, which depend regularly on incident energy. Validation of the systematics included folding of the predicted neutron spectra with standard 238U neutron fission cross section. Modeled in this way distributions of neutron-induced fission events agree reasonably with experimental data.