Concept for a neutron spectrometer based on optical detection of 3He(n,p)3H reactions in a gas

The conceptual framework is described for a new type of neutron spectrometer, based on the recently demonstrated principle of optical detection of charged particle tracks in a gas. Whereas the elastic scattering of a neutron gives rise to the single track of a charged recoil particle, the reaction 3 He(n,p) 3 H produces an event in which two tracks (those of the proton and triton) diverge from a common vertex at the capture site