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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Scattering of electron from a disk in 2D electron gas: Full cross section, transport cross section, and the interaction correction

It is known that the presence of the Fermi sea modifies the scattering of an electron from a point-like impurity. This is due to the Friedel oscillations of the electron density around the impurity. These oscillations create an additional scattering potential for incident electrons. The closer the energy of the incident electron to the Fermi level, the stronger the additional scattering. Here, we study this effect for the case when the impurity is not point-like but rather a hard disk, with a radius much bigger than the de Broglie wavelength. We start with a careful examination of the full and transport cross sections from an extended target. Both cross sections approach their limiting values upon increasing the wave vector of the incident electron. We establish that the transport cross section saturates much faster than the full cross section. With regard to the interaction correction, we establish that it vanishes for the full cross section, while for the transport cross section, it is enhanced compared to the case of a point-like scatterer.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Measurement of differential cross sections and W+/W- cross-section ratios for W boson production in association with jets at $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the W boson production cross section and the W + /W - cross-section ratio, both in association with jets, in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in final states containing one electron and missing transverse momentum using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb -1 . Differential cross sections for events with at least one or two jets are presented for a range of observables, including jet transverse momenta and rapidities, the scalar sum of transverse momenta of the visible particles and the missing transverse momentum in the event, and the transverse momentum of the W boson. For a subset of the observables, the differential cross sections of positively and negatively charged W bosons are measured separately. In the cross-section ratio of W + /W - the dominant systematic uncertainties cancel out, improving the measurement precision by up to a factor of nine. The observables and ratios selected for this paper provide valuable input for the up quark, down quark, and gluon parton distribution functions of the proton.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measurement of differential cross sections and W + / W − cross-section ratios for W boson production in association with jets at s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the W boson production cross section and the W+/W- cross-section ratio, both in association with jets, in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in final states containing one electron and missing transverse momentum using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb^-1. Differential cross sections for events with at least one or two jets are presented for a range of observables, including jet transverse momenta and rapidities, the scalar sum of transverse momenta of the visible particles in the event, and the transverse momentum of the W boson. For a subset of the observables, the differential cross sections of positively and negatively charged W bosons are measured separately. In the cross-section ratio of W+/W- the dominant systematic uncertainties cancel out, improving the measurement precision by up to a factor of nine. The observables and ratios selected for this paper provide valuable input for the up quark, down quark, and gluon parton distribution functions of the proton.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Publishing unbinned differential cross section results

Machine learning tools have empowered a qualitatively new way to perform differential cross section measurements whereby the data are unbinned, possibly in many dimensions. Unbinned measurements can enable, improve, or at least simplify comparisons between experiments and with theoretical predictions. Furthermore, many-dimensional measurements can be used to define observables after the measurement instead of before. There is currently no community standard for publishing unbinned data. While there are also essentially no measurements of this type public, unbinned measurements are expected in the near future given recent methodological advances. The purpose of this paper is to propose a scheme for presenting and using unbinned results, which can hopefully form the basis for a community standard to allow for integration into analysis workflows. This is foreseen to be the start of an evolving community dialogue, in order to accommodate future developments in this field that is rapidly evolving.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Windowed multipole representation of R -matrix cross sections

Nuclear cross sections are basic inputs to any nuclear computation. Campaigns of experiments are fitted with the parametric R-matrix model of quantum nuclear interactions, and the resulting cross sections are documented—both pointwise and as resonance parameters (with uncertainties)—in standard evaluated nuclear data libraries (ENDF, JEFF, BROND, JENDL, CENDL, TENDL): these constitute our common knowledge of fundamental low-energy nuclear cross sections. In the past decade, a collaborative effort has been deployed to establish a new nuclear cross-section library format—the Windowed Multipole Library—with the goal of considerably reducing the computational cost of cross-section calculations in nuclear transport simulations. This work lays the theoretical foundations underpinning these efforts. From general R-matrix scattering theory, we derive the windowed multipole representation of nuclear cross sections. Though physically and mathematically equivalent to R-matrix cross sections, the windowed multipole representation is particularly well suited for subsequent temperature treatment of angle-integrated cross sections, in particular Doppler broadening, which is the averaging of cross sections over the thermal motion of the target atoms. Doppler broadening is of critical importance in neutron transport applications, as it ensures the stability of many nuclear reactors (negative thermal reactivity). Yet, Doppler broadening of nuclear cross sections has been a considerable bottleneck for nuclear transport computations, often requiring memory-costly pretabulations. We show that the windowed multipole representation can perform accurate Doppler broadening analytically (up to the first reaction threshold), from which we derive cross-section temperature derivatives to any order—all computable on the fly (without precalculations stored in memory). Furthermore, we here establish a way of converting the R-matrix resonance parameters uncertainty (covariance matrices) into windowed multipole parameters uncertainty. We show that generating stochastic nuclear cross sections by sampling from the resulting windowed multipole covariance matrix can reproduce the cross-section uncertainty in the original nuclear data file. The windowed multipole representation is therefore a novel nuclear physics formalism able to generate Doppler broadened stochastic nuclear cross sections on the fly, unlocking breakthrough computational gains for nuclear computations. Through this foundational paper, we hope to make the windowed multipole representation accessible, reproducible, and usable for the nuclear physics community, as well as provide the theoretical basis for future research on expanding its capabilities.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A-priori and A-posteriori Covariance Data in Nuclear Cross Section Adjustments: Issues and Challenges

In order to provide useful feedback to evaluators a set of criteria are established for assessing the robustness and reliability of the cross section adjustments that make use of integral experiment information. Criteria are also provided for accepting the “a posteriori” cross sections, both as new “nominal” values and as “trends”. Some indications of the use of the “a posteriori” covariance matrix are indicated, even though more investigation is needed to settle this complex subject.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reference Cross Sections for Charged-particle Monitor Reactions

Evaluated cross sections of beam-monitor reactions are expected to become the de-facto standard for cross-section measurements that are performed over a very broad energy range in accelerators in order to produce particular radionuclides for industrial and medical applications. The requirements for such data need to be addressed in a timely manner, and therefore an IAEA coordinated research project was launched in December 2012 to establish or improve the nuclear data required to characterise charged-particle monitor reactions. An international team was assembled to recommend more accurate cross-section data over a wide range of targets and projectiles, undertaken in conjunction with a limited number of measurements and more extensive evaluations of the decay data of specific radionuclides. Least-square evaluations of monitor-reaction cross sections including uncertainty quantification have been undertaken for charged-particle beams of protons, deuterons, 3 He- and 4 He-particles. In conclusion, recommended beam monitor reaction data with their uncertainties are available at the IAEA-NDS medical portal www-nds.iaea.org/medical/monitor_reactions.html.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

The hydrogen molecule under the reaction microscope: single photon double ionization at maximum cross section and threshold (doubly differential cross sections)

In this paper, we studied the photo double ionization of hydrogen molecules in the threshold region (50 eV) and the complete photo fragmentation of deuterium molecules at maximum cross section (75 eV) with single photons (linearly polarized) from the Advanced Light Source, using the reaction microscope imaging technique. The 3D-momentum vectors of two recoiling ions and up to two electrons were measured in coincidence. We present the kinetic energy sharing between the electrons and ions, the relative electron momenta, the azimuthal and polar angular distributions of the electrons in the body-fixed frame. We also present the dependency of the kinetic energy release in the Coulomb explosion of the two nuclei on the electron emission patterns. We find that the electronic emission in the body-fixed frame is strongly influenced by the orientation of the molecular axis to the polarization vector and the internuclear distance as well as the electronic energy sharing. Finally, traces of a possible breakdown of the Born–Oppenheimer approximation are observed near threshold.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tables of Neutron Thermal Cross Sections, Westcott Factors, Resonance Integrals, Maxwellian Averaged Cross Sections, Astrophysical Reaction Rates, and r-process Abundances Calculated from the ENDF/B-VIII.1, JEFF-3.3, JENDL-5.0, BROND-3.1, and CENDL-3.2 Evaluated Data Libraries

We present calculations of neutron thermal cross sections, Westcott factors, resonance integrals, Maxwellian-averaged cross sections, astrophysical reaction rates, and solar system r-process abundances using the latest data from the major evaluated nuclear libraries for 849 ENDF target materials. The recent release of ENDF/B-VIII.1 library, progress in 252 Cf(SF) evaluation, extensive analysis of newly-evaluated neutron reaction cross sections, neutron covariances, and improvements in data processing techniques motivated us to calculate the nuclear industry and neutron physics parameters, produce s-process Maxwellian-averaged cross sections and astrophysical reaction rates, extract r-process abundances, systematically calculate uncertainties, and provide additional insights on currently available neutron-induced reaction data.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Uncertainty Quantification in Fission Cross Section Measurements at LANSCE

Neutron-induced fission cross sections have been measured for several isotopes of uranium and plutonium at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) over a wide range of incident neutron energies. The total uncertainties in these measurements are in the range 3–5% above 100 keV of incident neutron energy, which results from uncertainties in the target, neutron source, and detector system. The individual sources of uncertainties are assumed to be uncorrelated, however correlation in the cross section across neutron energy bins are considered. The quantification of the uncertainty contributions will be described here.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measurements of e p → e ' π + π – p ' cross sections with CLAS at 1.40 GeV < W < 2.0 GeV and 2.0 GeV 2 < Q 2 < 5.0 GeV 2

This study reports new exclusive cross sections for ep→e'π + π – p' using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Laboratory. These results are presented for the first time at photon virtualities 2.0 GeV 2 < Q 2 < 5.0 GeV 2 in the center-of-mass energy range 1.4 GeV < W < 2.0 GeV, which covers a large part of the nucleon resonance region. Using a model developed for the phenomenological analysis of electroproduction data, we see strong indications that the relative contributions from the resonant cross sections at W < 1.74 GeV increase with Q 2 . These data considerably extend the kinematic reach of previous measurements. Exclusive ep→e'π + π – p' cross section measurements are of particular importance for the extraction of resonance electrocouplings in the mass range above 1.6 GeV.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Preliminary Study on TRISO Fuel Cross Section Generation

Cross section self-shielding methodologies for TRISO fuel were assessed to provide accurate multigroup cross sections for a high-fidelity reactor physics code so that the code is able to accurately model and simulate advanced reactors with TRISO fuel. Initially, the two existing methodologies (the SCALE method and the Sanchez-Pomraning method) were studied and implemented to MC2-3 for detailed performance tests. Additionally, a new spatial self-shielding method, named the iterative local spatial self-shielding (ILSS) method, for particulate fuels was developed based on the disadvantage factor and implemented to MC2-3 as well. The new method approximately accounts for the effect of randomly distributed particles on the particle shadowing effect using a homogenized compact region surrounding a particle of interest at the center. The self-shielded cross sections of the particle at the center are determined iteratively since the cross sections of the homogenized compact region are calculated using them. For the energy range above 100 keV where the fuel-to-moderator ratio is more important than the random distribution of particles, a single particle unit-cell model is used by preserving the average amount of moderator per fuel particle in the system. The three self-shielding methods implemented in MC2-3 were tested using numerical benchmark problems made based on fuel compact problems of a prismatic-type very high temperature reactor. Test results indicated that the ILSS method produced slightly better results than the SCALE and Sanchez-Pomraning methods, compared to the Serpent-2 Monte Carlo results obtained with 25 independent random particle configurations. The SCALE and Sanchez-Pomraning methods tend to underestimate the heterogeneity effect by 150 and 100 pcm, respectively, while the new ILSS method overestimates the heterogeneity effect by 70 pcm. In future, the new self-shielding method will be extended to perform pebble calculations and compare results with those from the SCALE and Sanchez-Pomraning methods. Furthermore, the new method will be optimized for practical applications to on-the-fly resonance treatment for lattice or whole-core calculations for advanced reactors.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Measurements of differential cross sections of top quark pair production in association with jets in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13 $ TeV using the ATLAS detector

Measurements of differential cross sections of top quark pair production in association with jets by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC are presented. The measurements are performed as functions of the top quark transverse momentum, the transverse momentum of the top quark-antitop quark system and the out-of-plane transverse momentum using data from pp collisions at s√=13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb -1 . The top quark pair events are selected in the lepton (electron or muon) + jets channel. The measured cross sections, which are compared to several predictions, allow a detailed study of top quark production.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Preliminary 235 U(n,f)/ 6 Li(n,t)a Cross Section Ratio Data & Update on the 239 Pu(n,f)/ 235 U(n,f) Cross Section Ratio (FissionTPC FY2019 Report)

The primary motivation for the fissionTPC experiment is to provide precise, accurate data for evaluation of the 239 Pu(n,f) cross section. Neutron induced fission cross sections are typically measured as ratios, with a well known standard cross section being in the denominator. Measuring a ratio removes the need to quantify the neutron beam flux which is difficult to determine accurately. Any cross section ratio measurement is ultimately limited by the accuracy of the standard used. While the 235 U(n,f) standard is well measured some light particle reactions are known as well or better. Light particle reactions also remove some of the shared systematic uncertainties that are present in an actinide-only ratio measurement. To this end the NIFFTE collaboration originally proposed to measure the 239 Pu(n,f)/ 1 H(n,el) cross section ratio. The 1 H(n,el) reaction is well measured, smoothly varying as a function of energy and has good theoretical support, making it an ideal candidate for a cross section standard. Through simulation-based study and initial data collection with the fissionTPC of a 235 U(n,f)/ 1 H(n,el) cross section ratio it was determined that the measurement uncertainties could not be reduced sufficently to take full advantage of the high accuracy of the 1 H(n,el) reaction. The primary difficulties faced were the low energy of the scattered protons which do not provide enough signal to measure the neutron time-of-flight (nToF) with the fissionTPC fast cathode amplifier, and the the background (n,p) signals induced by the high energy component of the WNR beam. It should be noted that these challenges would be greatly reduced if we were to make such a measurement at a monoenergetic neutron facility. In light of these challenges other reactions were investigated. The 6 Li(n,t)a reaction was identified as a good alternative. The 4.8 MeV Q-value of the reaction provides a relatively large signal for nToF determination and the two charged particles (t & a) released in the reaction provide a signal well suited for background suppression in the fissionTPC. The 6 Li(n,t) reaction is considered a standard up to 1 MeV and is currently evaluated up to 3 MeV incident neutron energy. While this is a narrower energy range than the 1 H(n,el) reaction it overlaps well with the fission neutron spectrum. A mock evaluation was performed and it was estimated that a measurement of 239 Pu(n,f)/ 6 Li(n,t) would have an impact on the 239 Pu(n,f) evaluation comparable to a measurement using a the 1 H(n,el) reaction. While the 6 Li(n,t) reaction is not as well measured as the 1 H(n,el) reaction, the lack of previous measurements in the GMA database means that a new measurement of 239 Pu(n,f)/ 6 Li(n,t) will have a greater weighting and therefore a large impact on a future evaluation. In addition to providing a reduction in the 239 Pu(n,f) cross section evaluation uncertainties, a measurement of 6 Li(n,t) in the fissionTPC will provide data to resolve a discrepancy in previous measurements of the reaction above 1 MeV. Furthermore, the 6 Li data collected in the fissionTPC can also be analyzed to measure the 6 Li(n,nd) reaction for which there is limited discrepant data in the GMA database. This report will focus on: the motivation for making a 239 Pu(n,f)/ 6 Li(n,t) cross section ratio measurement; a preliminary look at 235 U(n,f)/ 6 Li(n,t) data collected which will emphasize the capability of the fissionTPC to make an nToF measurement with the fast cathode amplifier; and finally will provide a brief update on the 239 Pu(n,f)/ 235 U(n,f) cross section analysis.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

The SCALE/AMPX multigroup cross section processing for fast reactor analysis

The SCALE/AMPX multigroup (MG) cross section processing procedure has been updated to minimize reactivity differences for fast reactor designs and boiling water reactors (BWRs) with very high void fractions to provide excellent agreement with continuous-energy reference calculations. SCALE MG calculations are widely applied to thermal spectrum light-water reactor (LWR) systems as well as fast spectrum metallic systems of interest to National Nuclear Security Administration. With growing interest from industry and regulators in applying SCALE for the design of fast spectrum reactors, both sodium and molten salt, and in the licensing of power up rates for BWRs, it is desirable to review the SCALE/AMPX procedure for unresolved resonance self-shielded data and high energy neutron spectra. The data were improved by generating MG unresolved resonance data based on the analytic probability table method with the narrow resonance approximation as well as the use of a very fine group structure typically used in fast system analysis. This study focused on verifying the probability table and the SCALE/AMPX MG cross section processing procedure by performing reaction rate analysis and benchmark calculations for various fast reactor and high void BWR systems. Here, results indicate that the improved SCALE/AMPX MG cross section processing provides excellent results for the fast reactor analysis.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗