Nuclear Decay Data
at NPL
Paddy Regan
NPL Radioactivity Group, AIR Division
&
Department of Physics,
University of Surrey
Nuclear Data?
• ‘Nuclear Data’ and its evaluation underpin many areas of
both applied and fundamental nuclear science, including
Nuclear (waste) fuel assay & fission fragment identification
Nuclear forensics
Nuclear reactor operation / efficiency modelling
Radioisotope production (e.g., reaction cross-sections)
Radiopharmaceutical applications (activity standardisations,
dosimetry calculations)
– Identification and characterisation of ‘new’ radio-isotopes
– Fundamental studies of nuclear structure physics
–
–
–
–
–
– Input into International nuclear databases e.g.,
NEA / IAEA / JENDL/ NNDC
What is nuclear data?
• Measured values of a range of nuclear energy and time parameters, including
– Nuclear ground state masses, decay modes (α, β, fission,,..) and decay
energies.
– Nuclear decay lifetimes and partial decay modes
• Competing internal decays verses beta/alpha decay modes.
• Beta-delayed neutron probabilities, Pn(%) values, in fission fragments.
– Nuclear reaction probabilities (‘cross-sections’) as a function of energy,
(n,f), (p,f) reactions etc., e.g., thermal neutron capture cross-sections.
– Reaction product distributions from e.g. thermal and fast-neutron fission.
– Excited state properties of nuclei, characteristic gamma-ray energies,
relative Pγ (%) values, transition rates from nuclear excited states (lifetimes
range from ~10-15 s 1010 secs) internal conversion coefficients and gammaray decay multipolarities.
– Magnetic and quadrupole moments of nuclear excited and ground states.
– …lots more.
Examples of recent ‘nuclear data’
standardisations from NPL
• Lifetime of the decay of 223Ra.
• Gamma-ray emission probablilities in the
decay of 111Ag.
• 236Np production and separation.
• Evaluation of fission fragment distributions
from 25 MeV protons on Natural Uranium.
• First identification and structure information
on 162Sm, 166Gd (RIKEN, Japan)
Some recent (2014 ff) papers
re nuclear data from the NPL
Group.
223Ra
half-life
Hosted IoP/NNL/NPL sponsored
Workshop on Nuclear Data, Current Data, Uncertainties, Applications and Needs
30 October 2014
NPL has led workshops which have brought together nuclear physics researchers from
academia and national research laboratories with end-user stakeholders (e.g., EdF. IAEA,
CCFE/UKAEA) who are interested in the accurate measurement and application of nuclear
data to present the current status and discuss ongoing needs and possible future
collaboration in this developing area.
Aspects of nuclear data-related research which were presented included:
i) Measurements of nuclear fission residues and neutron capture cross-sections;
ii) Nuclear decay data information from spent fission fuels including decay heat etc.;
iii) Nuclear databases, who maintains them & what information do they contain and need? ;
iv) The new decay spectroscopy of exotic, neutron-rich isotopes at new radioactive beam
facilities world-wide;
v) Standardisations of medical radiopharmaceutical and naturally occurring radioisotopes;
vi) Areas of nuclear data needs from various end-user stakeholders such as EDF and NIRO.
IoP/NNL/NPL Nuclear Data Workshop
30th Oct 2014 > 80 external delegates
‘Recent’ NPL involvement in ‘state of the art’
nuclear spectroscopy programmes
Isolde Decay Station, CERN,
Switzerland. Decay spectroscopy
of 207Hg & 207Tl (Aug. 2014)
RIBF, RIKEN, Japan, EURICA,
New isotopes and spectroscopy
of fission fragments (Nov 2014).
NANA:
The NAtional Nuclear Array
Compact, high-efficiency, good granularity,
acceptable resolution gamma-ray spectrometer
array.
Gamma-ray detection both in g-g coincidence mode
(and later) for use in beta-gamma
Current design, 12 LaBr3(Ce) in close geometry,
Space for additional ‘gating’ detectors (HpGe, or Si
beta-detector) to be added later,
Robert Shearman, NDA-NNL funded PhD student, based at NPL, registered at University of
Surrey, working on ‘Development of a Novel Gamma-ray Detection System For Fission
Fragment Management and Evaluation’. Begun Oct. 2014.
NNL supervisor, Dr. Robert Mills ;
NPL Supervisor, Dr. Steven Judge ;
NPL/U.Surrey supervisor: Prof. Paddy Regan
Courtesy:
R.Shearman
NDA / NNL funded PhD
Student at NPL &
U. Surrey
Conceptual design, for
NANA.
Initial design:
12 detectors in fixed
geometry with source
in central position.
Cylindrical LaBr3(Ce)
Scintillation crystals,
1.5” diameter and
2.0” in length.
Digital time stamped DAQ
Using CAEN 1 GHz
Digitisers.
Development of novel spectrum and
coincidence analysis techniques.
Time-correlated (1 GHz samples) gamma-ray coincidence analysis using LaBr3(Ce)
Detectors. Analysis done on ‘list mode data’ and analysed ‘event by event’.
Uses ROOT software (from CERN).
Fast-neutron induced fission on 238U studies at IPN
Orsay, ongoing right now.
Investigation of ‘in-beam’ prompt gamma-ray flux and
overall prompt fission gamma-ray spectrum.
(Also new data on neutron-rich fission isotopes for
future characterisations).
Currently using MINIBALL gamma-ray detectors;
workshop at NPL 19-20 March 2015 to discuss wider
programme using NANA detectors.
Future uses and applications of
NANA array and detectors?
Fast-timing Gamma-ray Spectroscopy Nuclear Physics Workshop
to be held at NPL 19-20 March 2015.
Proposals for a range of experimental programmes linked to Nuclear Data
Measurement with Fast-timing LaBr3(Ce) gamma-ray spectrometer arrays:
1) 252Cf fission source decay (at Argonne National Lab, USA).
2) Fast-neutron fission on 238U and 232Th (LICORNE @ IPN-Orsay, France).
3) Decay spectroscopy at the CERN-ISOLDE decay station.
4) AGATA+FATIMA @ GANIL, France for precision structure studies of neutron-rich
isotopes (fission radionuclides).
5) Decay spectroscopy and beta-decay lifetimes of neutron-rich fission fragments
(RIKEN, Japan & FAIR-GSI, Germany)