Exploring nuclear structures with fast neutrons

by Hemantika SENGAR, 1st year PhD student at GANIL

Understanding and predicting the evolution of nuclear structure and novel phenomena has been a pursuit of scientific curiosity. Conventional approaches such as charged particle probes, heavy ion fusion evaporation reactions, etc. have been used to study nuclear structures. The (n,xn) reactions are a long-standing reaction mechanism used in cross-sectional data evaluation, but fast neutrons have rarely been used in the context of nuclear structure. For the first time, using the unprecedented neutron flux at GANIL’s NFS facility, 56Ni can be populated from 58Ni in a (n,3n) reaction, opening a new probe and possibly new aspects of the nuclear structure of this doubly magic nucleus.

This talk will present a preliminary analysis of the experiment, focusing mainly on the pure neutron channels. The primary focus will be on the (n,2n) channel, which produces 57Ni while also providing a glimpse into the doubly magic 56Ni. The question of whether large germanium volume detectors can be used for gamma spectroscopy in a high flux, high neutron energy environment will also be addressed.

This experiment is a pioneering effort in the study of nuclear structure using large gamma array and fast neutrons and is currently only possible at the NFS. If successful, this program will open a new door for nuclear structure studies.