How to calculate/get info about inelastic scattered neutron?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the energy of inelastically scattered neutrons, specifically when colliding with light nuclei such as 19F, 16O, and 9Be at MeV levels. The user initially struggled to find conclusive information but discovered that the first excited state of the nuclei is crucial for determining the Q-value, which is essential for calculating the energy threshold of inelastic scattering interactions. Resources such as the University of Tennessee's NE406 lesson and the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) chart were identified as valuable for finding excitation states of nuclides.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of neutron scattering principles
  • Familiarity with Q-value calculations in nuclear physics
  • Knowledge of excited states of atomic nuclei
  • Basic proficiency in using online nuclear databases
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the calculation of Q-values in inelastic neutron scattering
  • Explore the excitation states of light nuclei using the NNDC chart
  • Learn about neutron interactions with specific isotopes like 19F and 16O
  • Study the implications of neutron energy loss in nuclear reactions
USEFUL FOR

Researchers in nuclear physics, students studying neutron scattering, and professionals involved in nuclear engineering or radiation safety will benefit from this discussion.

Freemann
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I have been researching in the Forum, but I did not see anything conclusive about this: sorry if that was posted anywhere else here, I am new here :smile:.

The energy loss of a neutron after an elastic scattering is a pretty straightforward calculation that can be done by hand. However, I am straggling to get information about how to calculate the same for an inelastic scattering, or an online database where I can find such information.

I would be interested to know which is the resulting energy of a neutron which scatters light nucleai like 19F, 16O or 9Be at MeV level. For instance, 14MeV neutron colliding to 19F: 19F(n,n'), which is the final energy of the collided neutron n'?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Update:

Ok, I think I got it. I found this interesting resource: http://web.utk.edu/~rpevey/NE406/lesson8.htm

It looks like important is to know the first excited state of the nuclei after the scattering with an incident neutron with an energy E. This 1st excited state gives the Q-value, which is used to calculate the energy threshold of the inelastic scatter interaction:

less8a.gif


Knowing Et and E the ratio Δ between them is calculated as:

less8c.gif


And then an energy interval for the inelastically scattered neutron can be calculated:

less8e.gif

less8f.gif


The excitation states of the nuclides can be found here: http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/

So if I did not understand something wrong this looks also pretty straightforward :smile:
 

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