A New Approach to Estimating the Probability for beta-delayed Neutron Emission

作者：McCutchan E A^*; Sonzogni A A; Johnson T D; Abriola D; Birch M; Singh B

来源：Nuclear Data Sheets, 2014, 120: 62-65.

DOI：10.1016/j.nds.2014.07.007

The probability for neutron emission following beta decay, P-n, is a crucial property for a wide range of physics and applications including nuclear structure, r-process nucleosynthesis, the control of nuclear reactors, and the post-processing of nuclear fuel. Despite much experimental effort, knowledge of P-n values is still lacking in very neutron-rich nuclei, requiring predictions from either systematics or theoretical models. Traditionally, systematic predictions were made by investigating the P-n value as a function of the decay Q value and the neutron separation energy in the daughter nucleus. A new approach to P-n systematics is presented which incorporates the half-life of the decay and the Q value for beta-delayed neutron emission. This prescription correlates the known data better, and thus improves the estimation of P-n values for neutron-rich nuclei. Such an approach can be applied to generate input values for r-process network calculations or in the modeling of advanced fuel cycles.

• 出版日期2014-6