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The energy dependence of high-yield fission products has been measured using quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams at energies between 5.5 and 11.0 MeV. The absolute number of fissions during the irradiation period was determined via dual-fission ionization chambers, while the fission products were measured via direct g-ray spectroscopy. This paper presents absolute fission product yields from neutron-induced fission of 235U, 238U, and 239Pu isotopes for five incident energies in the second chance fission region.

An experiment was conducted at the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) facility at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) in Durham, NC, USA to measure the cross-section of the key astrophysical thermonuclear reaction 12C(α,γ)16O by means of its inverse photo-disintegration process. A high-intensity monochromatic γ-ray beam interacted with the CO2 gas in the active volume of the Warsaw active target TPC detector. The reaction products were detected and their momenta reconstructed, so to also determine angular correlations. Data were collected at 15 beam energies ranging from 8.51 to 13.9 MeV. Preliminary results are presented.

The covariance committee of CSEWG (Cross Section Evaluation Working Group) established templates of expected measurement uncertainties for neutron-induced total, (n,γ), neutron-induced charged-particle, and (n,xn) reaction cross sections as well as prompt fission neutron spectra, average prompt and total fission neutron multiplicities, and fission yields. Templates provide a list of what uncertainty sources are expected for each measurement type and observable, and suggest typical ranges of these uncertainties and correlations based on a survey of experimental data, associated literature, and feedback from experimenters. Information needed to faithfully include the experimental data in the nuclear-data evaluation process is also provided. These templates could assist (a) experimenters and EXFOR compilers in delivering more complete uncertainties and measurement information relevant for evaluations of new experimental data, and (b) evaluators in achieving a more comprehensive uncertainty quantification for evaluation purposes. This effort might ultimately lead to more realistic evaluated covariances for nuclear-data applications. In this topical issue, we cover the templates coming out of this CSEWG effort–typically, one observable per paper. This paper here prefaces this topical issue by introducing the concept and mathematical framework of templates, discussing potential use cases, and giving an example of how they can be applied (estimating missing experimental uncertainties of 235U(n,f) average prompt fission neutron multiplicities), and their impact on nuclear-data evaluations.

A joint TUNL-LLNL-LANL collaboration was formed to measure the absolute fission product yields from the 235 U, 238 U, and 239 Pu isotopes. Our goal is to study the energy evolution of fission products using monoenergetic beams. In order to extend our successful fission product-yield studies to include products with shorter half-lives, a RApid Belt-driven Irradiated Target Transfer System, named RABITTS, was constructed. This system allows us to perform cyclic activation and quantify fission products with γ-ray spectroscopy using HPGe detectors. Both a 1 meter and 10 meter transfer system have been developed, with transit times of 0.4 and 1.1 seconds, respectively. Using these systems, we have measured sub-second half-lives. Our goal is to measure fission product yields from neutron-induced fission with En = 0.5 − 14.8 MeV and photofission with Eγ = 8 − 15 MeV. A detailed characterization of the system’s performance is presented, including preliminary fission product measurements, and the expected sensitivity.

The Bohr hypothesis, one of the most fundamental assumptions in nuclear fission theory, states that the decay of a compound nucleus with a given excitation energy, spin and parity is independent of its formation. Using fission product yields (FPYs) as a sensitive probe, we have performed new high precision test of the combined effects of the entrance channel, spin and parity on the fission process. Two different reactions were used in a self-consistent manner to produce a compound 240Pu nucleus with the same excitation energy: neutron induced fission of 239Pu at En = 4.6 MeV and photon-induced fission of 240Pu at Eγ = 11.2 MeV. The FPYs from these two reactions were measured using quasimonoenergetic neutron beams from the TUNL's FN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator and quasimonenergetic photon beams from the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HlγS) facility. The first results comparing the FPYs from these two reactions will be presented. Implications for validating the Bohr hypothesis will be discussed.

Fission product yields (FPYs) are an important source of information that are used for basic and applied physics. They are essential observables to address questions relevant to nucleosynthesis in the cosmos that created the elements from iron to uranium, for example, in energy generating processes from fission recycling in binary neutron star mergers; resolving the reactor neutrino anomaly; decay heat release in nuclear reactors; and many national security applications. While new applications will require accurate energy-dependent FPY data over a broad set of incident neutron energies, the current evaluated FPY data files contain only three energy points: thermal, fast, and 14-MeV incident energies. Recent measurements using mono-energetic and pulsed neutron beams at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) tandem accelerator and employing a dual fission ionization chambers setup have produced self-consistent, high-precision data critical for testing fission models for the neutron-induced fission of the major actinide nuclei. This paper will present new campaign just beginning utilizing a RApid Belt-driven Irradiated Target Transfer System (RABITTS) to measure shorter-lived fission products and the time dependence of fission yields, expanding the measurements from cumulative towards independent fission yields.

Fission product yields (FPYs) are a uniquely sensitive probe of the fission process, with well established dependence on the species of nucleus undergoing fission, its excitation energy and spin. Thus FPYs are well suited for testing Bohr’s hypothesis in the context of nuclear fission, which states that the decay of a compound nucleus with a given excitation energy, spin and parity is independent of its formation. Using FPYs, we have performed a new highprecision test of the combined effects of the entrance channel, spin and parity on the fission process from two of the most commonly used particles to induce fission neutrons and photons. The 239 Pu(n,f) reaction at En = 4.6 MeV and the 240 Pu(γ,f) reaction at Eγ = 11.2 MeV were used to produce a 240 Pu∗ compound nucleus with the same excitation energy. The FPYs from these two reactions were measured using quasimonoenergetic neutron beams from the TUNL’s FN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator and quasimonenergetic photon beams from the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) facility. The FPYs from these two reactions are compared quantitatively for the first time.

Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) experiments on the nuclei 82Kr and 82Se were performed, that are a candidates for a mother-daughter pair for the hypothetical neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay. The experiment aimed at providing high-precision data to benchmark theoretical calculations of the nuclear matrix elements involved in this exotic decay mode. We have investigated the excitation energy range from 2.3MeV to 4.2MeV, where the nuclear scissors mode is expected to be located in nuclei of this mass region. Our experiment was able to constrain decay branches of the scissors mode down to a level of a few percents, comparable to previous experiments on heavy deformed 0νββ decay candidates. Reduced transition strengths of the magnetic dipole-excited states have been determined by a method that exploits the non-resonant background in the NRF spectra. They are compared to a calculation within the nuclear shell model for 82Se, which reveals their mixed orbital and spin character, hinting at a more complex microscopic structure of low-lying 1+ states.