https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2013-13027-6
Tools for Experiment and Theory - Experimental Physics
Performance of the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN
1
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland
2
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece
3
Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique (CEA) Saclay - Irfu, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
4
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Bari, Italy
5
Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Wien, Austria
6
Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Germany
7
Uniwersytet Łódzki, Lodz, Poland
8
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/IN2P3 - IPN, Orsay, France
9
Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain
10
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
11
University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK
12
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
13
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
14
Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
15
Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
16
Instituto de Física Corpuscular, CSIC, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
17
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
18
Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
19
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Legnaro, Italy
20
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
21
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, India
22
University of York, Heslington, York, UK
23
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Campus Nord, Institut für Kernphysik, Karlsruhe, Germany
24
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 37831, Oak Ridge, USA
25
University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Vienna, Austria
26
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bologna, and Sezione INFN di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
27
Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile (ENEA), Bologna, Italy
28
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Trieste, Italy
29
Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering - IFIN HH, Bucharest, Romania
30
European Commission JRC, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, B-2440, Geel, Belgium
31
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
32
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso dell’INFN, Assergi, Italy
* e-mail: carlos.guerrero@cern.ch
Received:
23
November
2012
Accepted:
12
February
2013
Published online:
25
February
2013
The neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF features a white neutron source produced by spallation through 20GeV/c protons impinging on a lead target. The facility, aiming primarily at the measurement of neutron-induced reaction cross sections, was operating at CERN between 2001 and 2004, and then underwent a major upgrade in 2008. This paper presents in detail all the characteristics of the new neutron beam in the currently available configurations, which correspond to two different collimation systems and two choices of neutron moderator. The characteristics discussed include the intensity and energy dependence of the neutron flux, the spatial profile of the beam, the in-beam background components and the energy resolution/broadening. The discussion of these features is based on dedicated measurements and Monte Carlo simulations, and includes estimations of the systematic uncertainties of the mentioned quantities.
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2013