High-sensitivity Radioactive Xenon Monitoring and High-accuracy Neutron-proton Scattering Measurements

Johansson, C. 2004. High-sensitivity Radioactive Xenon Monitoring and High-accuracy Neutron-proton Scattering Measurements. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 984. 59 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-554-5979-X Two aspects of applied nuclear physics have been studied in this thesis; Monte Carlo simulations for high-sensitivity monitoring of radioactive xenon and high-accuracy neutron-proton scattering measurements for neutron physics applications and fundamental physics. The Monte Carlo simulations have been performed for two systems for detection of radioactive xenon, using the MCNP code. These systems, designed for monitoring of violations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, are based on coincident detection of electrons and gamma rays, emitted in beta decay of xenon nuclides produced in nuclear weapons explosions. In general, the simulations describe test data well, and the deviations from experimental data are understood. The neutron-proton scattering measurements have been performed by measuring the differential np scattering cross section at 96 MeV in the angular range θc.m. = 20◦ − 76◦. Together with an earlier data set at the same energy, covering the angles θc.m. = 74◦ −180◦, a new data set has been formed in the angular range θc.m. = 20◦ − 180◦. This extended data set has been normalised to the experimental total np cross section, resulting in a renormalisation of the earlier data of 0.7 %, which is well within the stated normalisation uncertainty for that experiment. The results on forward np scattering are in reasonable agreement with theory models and partial wave analyses and have been compared with data from the literature.