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Double-differential neutron production cross sections (DDXs) for 200-MeV deuteron induced reactions on Li, Be, C, Al, Cu, Nb, In, Ta, and Au were measured at forward emission angles ranging from 0° to 25° by means of a time of flight (TOF) method with EJ301 liquid organic scintillators. The measured DDXs were compared with JENDL-5 and TENDL-2021 nuclear data, and theoretical model calculations using DEURACS and PHITS codes. It was found that the JENDL-5 and DEURACS calculation are in better agreement with the measured DDXs than the PHITS calculation, while TENDL-2021 fails to reproduce both the spectral shape and magnitude of the measured DDXs for all the targets.

Double-differential thick target neutron yields from LiF, C, Si, Ni, Mo, and Ta targets bombarded by 13.4-MeV deuterons were measured by using an EJ-301 liquid organic scintillator at the Center for Accelerator and Beam Applied Science, Kyushu University. The measured (d, xn) spectra were compared with the (t, xn) spectra measured by the other group at the same incident energy per nucleon (6.7 MeV/u) and theoretical model calculations by Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) and DEUteron-induced Reaction Analysis Code System (DEURACS). Some bumps are observed in the (d, xn) spectra for low-Z target elements, while no specific structure was seen in the (t, xn) spectra. The PHITS calculation, in which the intra-nuclear cascade of Liége (INCL) and generalized evaporation model (GEM) were used, generally overestimates neutron spectra while the DEURACS calculation agrees with experimental ones fairly well.

Unfolding process plays an important role in neutron energy distribution measurement by means of the multiple-foil activation method. We have developed an algorithm for estimating uncertainty of resultant neutron distribution. For the demonstration of the algorithm, we have conducted an experiment to measure thick-target neutron yield (TTNY) of the C(d,n) reaction induced by 20-MeV deuterons with the multiple-foil activation method. The experiment was conducted at Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University in Japan. The obtained experimental data were analyzed by the algorithm. As a result, we found that uncertainty of derived TTNY has dependency on neutron emission energy. In addition, the dependency is caused by excitation functions of activation reactions. Therefore, we found the particular reactions causing large uncertainty in TTNY. The result of present study shows that the algorithm can evaluate uncertainty and its causes.

Cesium-132 has proposed as an alternative tracer of 137Cs for environment study on radioactive cesium dynamics released by a nuclear power plant accident. In the present study, we conducted a production experiment of the 132Cs by means of accelerator-based neutron method to investigate production amount and radioactive purity. A 12-g Cs2CO3 sample was irradiated by the accelerator-based neutron via the C(d,n) reactions by 1.2 µA of 30-MeV deuterons. As a result, 102 kBq/g of 132Cs was obtained with higher than 98.5% radioactive purity. Following that, a feasibility study of cesium dynamics measurement in andosol soil was performed. We found distribution of absorption of cesium in andosol soil can be clearly measurable by the produced 132Cs tracer.

Spallation reaction for the long-lived fission product 107Pd has been studied for the purpose of nuclear waste transmutation. The isotopic-distribution cross sections on both proton and deuteron were obtained at 118 MeV/nucleon in inverse kinematics at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. A large cross-section difference was found between the proton and deuteron results for the light-mass products. The data were compared with the SPACS semi-empirical parameterization and the PHITS calculations including both the intranuclear cascade and evaporation processes. In addition, the potential of spallation reaction for transmutation of 107Pd is discussed.

Double-differential neutron production cross sections (DDXs) for deuteron-induced reactions on Li at 200 MeV were measured for emission angles ranging from 0◦ to 25◦ in steps of 5◦ by means of a time of flight (TOF) method with EJ301 liquid organic scintillators at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University. The measured DDXs were compared to theoretical model calculations with the DEURACS and PHITS codes and TENDL-2017 nuclear data. It was found that the DEURACS calculation is in better agreement with the measured DDXs than the PHITS calculation, while TENDL-2017 fails to reproduce both the spectral shape and magnitude of the measured DDXs for all angles.

Isotopic production cross sections were measured for proton- and deuteron-induced reactions on 93Nb by means of the inverse kinematics method at RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. The measured production cross sections of residual nuclei in the reaction 93Nb + p at 113 MeV/u were compared with previous data measured by the conventional activation method in the proton energy range between 46 and 249 MeV. The present inverse kinematics data of four reaction products (90Mo, 90Nb, 88Y, and 86Y) were in good agreement with the data of activation measurement. Also, the model calculations with PHITS describing the intra-nuclear cascade and evaporation processes generally well reproduced the measured isotopic production cross sections.

Isotopic production cross sections in the proton- and deuteron-induced spallation reactions on 93Zr at an energy of 105 MeV/u were measured in inverse kinematics conditions for the development of realistic nuclear transmutation processes for long-lived fission products (LLFPs) with neutron and light-ion beams. The experimental results were compared to the PHITS calculations describing the intra-nuclear cascade and evaporation processes. Although an overall agreement was obtained, a large overestimation of the production cross sections for the removal of a few nucleons was seen. A clear shell effect associated with the neutron magic number N = 50 was observed in the measured isotopic production yields of Zr and Y isotopes, which can be reproduced reasonably by the PHITS calculation.

We have proposed a new method of producing medical radioisotope 92Y as a candidate of alternatives of 111In bioscan prior to 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan treatment. The 92Y isotope is produced via the 92Zr (n,p) reaction using accelerator neutrons generated by the interaction of deuteron beams with carbon. A feasibility experiment was performed at Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University. A carbon thick target was irradiated by 20-MeV deuterons to produce accelerator neutrons. The thick target neutron yield (TTNY) was measured by using the multiple foils activation method. The foils were made of Al, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Zr, Nb, and Au. The production amount of 92Y and induced impurities were estimated by simulation with the measured TTNY and the JENDL-4.0 nuclear data.

Double-differential cross sections (DDXs) of deuteron-induced neutron production reactions on Li, Be, and C at 102 MeV were measured at forward angles (≤ 25∘) by means of a time of flight method with NE213 liquid organic scintillators at the Research Center of Nuclear Physics, Osaka University. The experimental results were compared with model calculations with PHITS and DEURACS. The DEURACS calculation reproduces the experimental DDXs for C at very forward angles than the PHITS one. Moreover, the incident energy dependence of the Li(d,xn) reaction was investigated by adding the DDX data measured previously at 25 and 40 MeV.

A comprehensive research program on deuteron nuclear data motivated by development of accelerator-based neutron sources is being executed. It is composed of measurements of neutron and gamma-ray yields and production cross sections, modelling of deuteron-induced reactions and code development, nuclear data evaluation and benchmark test, and its application to medical radioisotopes production. The goal of this program is to develop a state-of-the-art deuteron nuclear data library up to 200 MeV which will be useful for the design of future (d,xn) neutron sources. The current status and future plan are reviewed.

Spallation reactions for the long-lived fission products 137Cs, 90Sr and 107Pd have been studied for the purpose of nuclear waste transmutation. The cross sections on the proton- and deuteron-induced spallation were obtained in inverse kinematics at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. Both the target and energy dependences of cross sections have been investigated systematically. and the cross-section differences between the proton and deuteron are found to be larger for lighter fragments. The experimental data are compared with the SPACS semi-empirical parameterization and the PHITS calculations including both the intra-nuclear cascade and evaporation processes.

Meteorological-tsunami-like (or meteotsunami-like) periodic oscillation was muographically detected with the Tokyo-Bay Seafloor Hyper-Kilometric Submarine Deep Detector (TS-HKMSDD) deployed in the underwater highway called the Trans-Tokyo Bay Expressway or Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line (TBAL). It was detected right after the arrival of the 2021 Typhoon-16 that passed through the region 400 km south of the bay. The measured oscillation period and decay time were respectively 3 h and 10 h. These measurements were found to be consistent with previous tide gauge measurements. Meteotsunamis are known to take place in bays and lakes, and the temporal and spatial characteristics of meteotsunamis are similar to seismic tsunamis. However, their generation and propagation mechanisms are not well understood. The current result indicates that a combination of muography and trans-bay or trans-lake underwater tunnels will offer an additional tool to measure meteotsunamis at locations where tide gauges are unavailable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A portable muography detector was developed for measuring infrastructure degradation and its performance was tested. The detector consists of two muon position sensitive detectors (mu-PSDs) of the area of 140 mm $\times \,\, 140$ mm, placed in a compact light-shielding box. Each mu-PSD consists of plastic scintillating fibers connected to multipixel photon counters (MPPCs). To suppress the gain deviation of the MPPCs, the box was heat insulated and its inner air temperature was maintained by Peltier cooling–heating modules. The mu-PSD pixel size was 8.75 mm $\times \,\, 8.75$ mm and the distance between the two mu-PSDs was set to 100 mm in order to achieve a solid angle resolution of 8 msr when measuring typical pieces of infrastructure at thicknesses of several tens of centimeters. The intensity of cosmic-ray muons was measured as a function of zenith angle on the ground and was found to be in good agreement with the well-known empirical formula for muon intensity at Earth’s surface. The structural interior of a seven-story concrete building was then successfully imaged with the muography detector placed in the building’s basement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed an irradiation test of low-energy positive and negative muons on 65-nm ultra-thin body and thin buried oxide silicon-on-insulator static random access memories. The single event upset (SEU) cross sections were measured systematically as a function of incident muon momentum and operating supply voltage. The experimental results show that the negative muon SEUs occur at about three times higher rate than the positive muon ones at the supply voltage of 0.5 V when the incident muons stop near the sensitive volume (SV). A Monte-Carlo simulation with the particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) was carried out using a simple SV model. The simulation based on the PHITS using the SV model is found to reproduce generally well the momentum dependence of the measured SEU cross sections for both positive and negative muons. From the simulation, the charged particles and secondary ions having significant influence on SEUs are specified and the differences between negative and positive muons are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irradiation experiments of positive and negative muon were conducted for 65-nm bulk CMOS static random-access memory. The experimental results reveal that parasitic bipolar action (PBA) contributes to negative muon-induced upsets. We observe an increase in single event upset (SEU) cross section at higher operation voltage under negative muon irradiation while positive muon shows an opposite decreasing tendency. Also, the proportion of multiple-cell upset (MCU) events to all the negative muon-induced upset events is up to 66, and more than a 20-bit MCU is observed. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulation of particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) is performed for explaining the difference in SEU between positive and negative muons. We also discuss the charge threshold that triggers PBA-induced MCU using measurement and simulation results with different momentum muons. The estimated threshold is much larger than the charge that the positive muons can deposit, which well explains that no PBA-induced MCUs are observed under positive muon irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]