Low-energy neutron physics research with a gamma multiplicity detector

A sixteen-segment NaI(Tl) multiplicity gamma ray detector is used at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Gaerttner LINAC Laboratory for neutron cross section measurements. This detector consists of an annulus of NaI(Tl) divided into two sets of 8 pie shaped segments, each segment optically isolate and viewed by a photomultiplier. The neutron beam passes along the axis of the detector and impinges upon a sample placed in the center. Time-of-flight data are taken as a function of the number of sections which detect a gamma and which is defined as the detected multiplicity. This detector can simultaneously acquire neutron scattering, capture and fission data by placing suitable limits on the total detected gamma ray energy deposited in the detector. Scattering and capture measurements have been performed on samples of holmium, erbium, and tungsten and experimental results are presented. The experimental multiplicity for capture is analyzed by assuming the single particle model, stochastically calculating the gamma ray cascades from neutron capture, and transporting each gamma ray into the detector using the Monte Carlo method. The detection efficiency for neutron capture is over 90 percent and is relatively insensitive to different isotopes of the same element or different spins of the compound nuclear resonances. A status report on experimental and analytical activities at the Laboratory is presented.