SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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The 1999 evaluation for A = 125 mass chain (1999Ka26) has been revised using experimental results from decays and reactions. Adopted values for the level and decay properties are tabulated. Inconsistencies and discrepancies are noted.
In this study, production rates of {sup 125,123}Xe and {sup 133,131,129,128}Ba medical isotopes produced by {sup 127}I(p, 3n){sup 125}Xe, {sup 127}I(p, 5n){sup 123}Xe, {sup 133}Cs(p, n){sup 133mg}Ba, {sup 133}Cs(p, 3n){sup 131mg}Ba, {sup 133}Cs(p, 5n){sup 129}Ba, and {sup 133}Cs(p, 6n){sup 128}Ba reactions have been investigated up to 100 MeV incident proton energy. The preequilibrium calculations involve the hybrid model, the geometry-dependent hybrid model and the cascade exciton model. The calculated results are compared with the experimental data taken from the literature.
Barium-131 and Xenon-125 are valuable radioisotopes with numerous scientific and medical applications. Here, we produced both isotopes via proton irradiation of a cesium iodide (CsI) target at the Brookhaven Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator (BTVG). Following irradiation, we conducted systematic γ-ray spectroscopy measurements at the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) decay station using a calibrated High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector, collecting data over a 2-month period (spanning approximately 4.5 half-lives for 131 Ba). Through careful analysis of the characteristic γ-ray emissions from both isotopes, we determined the half-life of 131 Ba to be 11.55(6) days, which agrees with the previously evaluated value. For 125 Xe, we measured a half-life of 16.56(8) hours, slightly lower than the evaluated value.
Electron-capture decays of 125 Xe and 127 Xe , and double-electron-capture decays of 124 Xe , are backgrounds in searches for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) conducted by dual-phase xenon time projection chambers such as LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ). These decays produce signals with more light and less charge than equivalent-energy 𝛽 decays and correspondingly overlap more with WIMP signals. We measure three electron-capture charge yields in LZ: the 1.1 keV M-shell, 5.2 keV L-shell, and 33.2 keV K-shell at drift fields of 193 and 96.5 V/cm. The LL double-electron-capture decay of 124 Xe exhibits even more pronounced shifts in charge and light. We provide a first model of double-electron-capture charge yields using the link between ionization density and electron-ion recombination, and identify a need for more accurate calculations. Finally, we discuss the implications of the reduced charge yield of these decays and other interactions creating inner-shell vacancies for future dark matter searches.
We describe an apparatus for attosecond photoelectron spectroscopy of solids and surfaces, which combines the generation of isolated attosecond extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) laser pulses by high harmonic generation in gases with time-resolved photoelectron detection and surface science techniques in an ultrahigh vacuum environment. This versatile setup provides isolated attosecond pulses with photon energies of up to 140 eV and few-cycle near infrared pulses for studying ultrafast electron dynamics in a large variety of surfaces and interfaces. The samples can be prepared and characterized on an atomic scale in a dedicated flexible surface science end station. The extensive possibilities offered by this apparatus are demonstrated by applying attosecond XUV pulses with a central photon energy of {approx}125 eV in an attosecond streaking experiment of a xenon multilayer grown on a Re(0001) substrate.
The formation of electron emission-bias voltage (I-V) characteristics of near-zero differential resistance in the cathodic plasma contactor for bare electrodynamic tether applications, based on a hollow cathode embedded in a ring-cusp ionization stage, is studied. The existence of such an I-V regime is important to achieve low impedance performance without being affected by the space plasma properties for a cathodic plasma contactor. Experimental data on the plasma structure and properties downstream from the ionization stage are presented as functions of the xenon flow rate and the electron emission current. The electrons were emitted from the cathode to the cylindrical vacuum chamber wall (r = 0.9 m) under ≈10{sup −5 }Torr of vacuum pressure. The ring-cusp configuration selected for the plasma contactor created a 125-Gauss axial field near the cathode orifice, along with a large-volume 50-Gauss magnitude pocket in the stage. A baseline ion energy cost of ≈300 eV/ion was measured in the ionization stage when no electrons were emitted to the vacuum chamber wall. In addition, the anode fall growth limited the maximum propellant unitization to below ≈75% in the discharge loss curves for this ion stage. Detailed measurements on the plasma properties were carried out for the no-electron emission and 3 A emission conditions. The experimental data are compared with 1-D models, and the effectiveness of the model is discussed. The four key issues that played important roles in the process of building the near-zero different resistance I-V regime are: a significant amount of ionization by the emission electrons, a decrease in the number of reflected electrons in the plume, the electron-temperature increment, and low initial ion energy at the source outlet.
Experimentally measured isotopic concentrations of well characterized spent nuclear fuel (SNF) samples have been collected and analyzed by previous researchers. These sets of experimental data have been used extensively to validate the accuracy of depletion code predictions for given sets of burnups, initial enrichments, and varying power histories for different reactor types. The purpose of this report is to present the diversity of data in a concise manner and summarize the current accuracy of depletion modeling. All calculations performed for this report were done using the Oak Ridge Isotope GENeration (ORIGEN) code, an internationally used irradiation and decay code solver within the SCALE comprehensive modeling and simulation code. The diversity of data given in this report includes key actinides, stable fission products, and radioactive fission products. In general, when using the current ENDF/B-VII.0 nuclear data libraries in SCALE, the major actinides are predicted to within 5% of the measured values. Large improvements were seen for several of the curium isotopes when using improved cross section data found in evaluated nuclear data file ENDF/B-VII.0 as compared to ENDF/B-V-based results. The impact of the flux spectrum on the plutonium isotope concentrations as a function of burnup was also shown. The general accuracy noted for the actinide samples for reactor types with burnups greater than 5,000 MWd/MTU was not observed for the low-burnup Hanford B samples. More work is needed in understanding these large discrepancies. The stable neodymium and samarium isotopes were predicted to within a few percent of the measured values. Large improvements were seen in prediction for a few of the samarium isotopes when using the ENDF/B-VII.0 libraries compared to results obtained with ENDF/B-V libraries. Very accurate predictions were obtained for 133 Cs and 153 Eu. However, the predicted values for the stable ruthenium and rhodium isotopes varied as much as 10% of the measured values, and 109 Ag was consistently over-predicted by as much as 170%. In general, there is a larger uncertainty for modeling radioactive fission products when compared to either the actinides or the stable fission products in SNF. The relative C/E ratios ranged from a few percent for 137 Cs up to 60% and 100% for 106 Ru and 125 Sb, respectively. Limited or no radioactive fission products data exist in the current data sets for reactor types other than PWRs and BWRs. More work is needed in obtaining a greater diversity of radioactive fission product data. While performing this survey, issues leading to inconsistencies in nuclear fission yield data were discovered that specifically impacted the fission product noble gases. Emphasis was given to this legacy data, and corrective actions were taken as described in this report. After the fission yield data were corrected, the stable xenon and krypton fission products were predicted to within 5% of their measurements. However, preliminary results not explicitly given in this report indicate that the relative C/E ratio for the radioactive isotope 85 Kr varied as much as 10%. Due to the complex migration and the difficulty in measuring noble gases in the fuel, a more thorough investigation is needed to understand how accurately depletion codes can calculate these gas concentrations.
The exhaust of the source flowing into vacuum was measured by Thomson scattering diagnosis. Mean electron temperatures and densities were found to be 4-8 eV and of order ten to the 13th power cm/3 respectively over the 8 cm exhaust diameter at 30 cm from the source. Large shot to shot variations were noted. After a transient spike passes, these conditions persist during the power time of 125 microsecond. These exhaust conditions are marginal for evaluation of a proposed near resonant charge exchange pumped laser theory.
The exhaust of the source flowing into vacuum was measured by Thomson scattering diagnosis. Mean electron temperatures and densities were found to be 4-8 eV and on the order of 10 trillion per cu cm respectively, over the 8 cm exhaust diameter at 30 cm from the source. Large shot to shot variations were noted. After a transient spike passes, these conditions persist during the power time of 125 microsec. These exhaust conditions are marginal for evaluation of a proposed near resonant charge exchange pumped laser theory.
In the context of supersymmetric models in which small Dirac neutrino masses are generated by supersymmetry breaking, a mainly right-handed (RH) mixed sneutrino can be an excellent cold dark matter (DM) candidate. We perform a global analysis of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM)+RH neutrino parameter space by means of Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling. We include all relevant constraints from collider and dark matter searches, paying particular attention to nuclear and astrophysical uncertainties. Two distinct cases can satisfy all constraints: heavy sneutrino DM with mass of order 100 GeV, as well as light sneutrino DM with mass of about 3–6 GeV. We discuss the implications for direct and indirect dark matter searches, as well as for SUSY and Higgs searches at the LHC for both, the light and the heavy sneutrino dark matter case. The light sneutrino case is excluded by the 125–126 GeV Higgs signal.
The photocatalytic behavior of six tunneled titanates—Na{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 4.7}Ti{sub 0.3}O{sub 8}, Na{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 4.8}Ti{sub 1.2}O{sub 10}, Na{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 4.8}Ti{sub 2.2}O{sub 12}, K{sub 1}Ga{sub 17}Ti{sub 15}O{sub 56}, K{sub 1.5}Ga{sub 1.5}Ti{sub 6.5}O{sub 16}, and BaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9}—was investigated using methylene blue as an indicator and a xenon arc lamp as the radiation source. Powders prepared by solid state reaction had surface areas ranging from 0.40 to 1.58 m{sup 2}/g and particle sizes ranging from 1 to 25 μm. Bandgaps, as measured from diffuse reflectance data, ranged from 2.84 to 4.15 eV. Two of the tunneled titanates—Na{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 4.8}Ti{sub 1.2}O{sub 10} and Na{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 4.7}Ti{sub 0.3}O{sub 8}—exhibited negligible photocatalytic activity. The activities of Na{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 4.8}Ti{sub 2.2}O{sub 12}, KGa{sub 17}Ti{sub 15}O{sub 56}, and K{sub 1.5}Ga{sub 1.5}Ti{sub 6.5}O{sub 16} were similar to each other, exhibiting apparent first-order reaction rates of 0.275 to 0.31 h{sup −1} using 100 mg of powder in 125 ml of 20 μM methylene blue at room temperature. The BaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9} sample exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with an apparent first-order reaction rate of 0.53 h{sup −1} under the same conditions. The addition of a RuO{sub 2} co-catalyst improved the photocatalytic activity of Na{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 4.7}Ti{sub 0.3}O{sub 8}, decreased the activity of BaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9}, and had little effect on the activity of the other powders. A comparison of the structural features in the six materials shows that photocatalytic activity is strongly related to the density of TiO{sub 6} octahedra in the different crystal structures. Among the gallium-containing tunneled titanates, photocatalytic activity increased with decreasing band gap. - Graphical abstract: Na{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 4.7}Ti{sub 0.3}O{sub 8}—One of the tunneled titanates investigated. Highlights: ► The photocatalytic activity of six tunneled titanates was compared. ► Na{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 4.8}Ti{sub 1.2}O{sub 10} and Na{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 4.7}Ti{sub 0.3}O{sub 8} exhibited negligible photocatalytic activity. ► The activities of Na{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 4.8}Ti{sub 2.2}O{sub 12}, KGa{sub 17}Ti{sub 15}O{sub 56}, and K{sub 1.5}Ga{sub 1.5}Ti{sub 6.5}O{sub 16} were similar to each other. ► BaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9} exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. ► Photocatalytic activity is related to the density of TiO{sub 6} octahedra.