Exploring Nuclear Structures with Fast Neutrons

by Hemantika Sengar (2nd year PhD student)

 

 

Understanding the nuclear structure and novel phenomena in nuclei has long been a pursuit of scientific curiosity. Conventional methods such as charged particle probes and heavy-ion fusion evaporation reactions have been employed so far in the phase space of shell structure, magic numbers, angular momentum, and excitation energy. However, the possibilities expand when we dive into the unexplored territories of fast-neutron probes.

 

In this experiment, we conducted prompt-γ spectroscopy of reaction products in coincidence with fast neutrons, focusing specifically on the (n,xn) channels, using the EXOGAM at the Neutrons for Science (NFS) facility.

 

Results on the (n,2n) channel were previously presented; this time we will discuss more on the technical framework and the tools developed to tackle the complexity of γ-ray spectroscopy in a multi-isotope environment with complex level schemes. In addition to a brief discussion of the (n,3n) channel, particular emphasis will be placed on the production and study of the isotope ⁵⁷Co, observed via the (n,d) and (n,n’p) channels. The feasibility of employing large-volume germanium detectors for high-resolution γ spectroscopy in environments characterized by high neutron flux and energy will also be addressed. Nuclear alignment observed with fast neutron will also be discussed.

 

This experiment represents a pioneering effort in nuclear structure research using large γ-ray detector array with fast neutrons, currently only feasible at NFS-GANIL-SPIRAL2. This has the potential to open new avenues of nuclear structure information that have remained inaccessible to conventional methods.

 

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