https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2017-12263-0
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
On the role of secondary pions in spallation targets
1
Den-Service d’étude des réacteurs et de mathématiques appliquées (SERMA), CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
2
ENEA, Research Centre “Ezio Clementel”, I-40129, Bologna, Italy
3
INFN, Section of Bologna, I-40127, Bologna, Italy
4
INFN, Section of Bari, I-70125, Bari, Italy
5
IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
6
Universidad de Sevilla, Facultad de Fisica, 41012, Sevilla, Spain
7
AGO department, University of Liège, allée du 6 aot 17, bât. B5, B-4000, Liège 1, Belgium
8
Physics and Astronomy Department, “Alma Mater Studiorum”, University of Bologna, I-40126, Bologna, Italy
9
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), CH-1211, Geneva, Switzerland
* e-mail: davide.mancusi@cea.fr
Received:
19
September
2016
Accepted:
25
March
2017
Published online:
2
May
2017
We use particle-transport simulations to show that secondary pions play a crucial role for the development of the hadronic cascade and therefore for the production of neutrons and photons from thick spallation targets. In particular, for the n_TOF lead spallation target, irradiated with 20 GeV/c protons, neutral pions are involved in the production of 
of the high-energy photons; charged pions participate in 
of the integral neutron yield. Nevertheless, photon and neutron yields are shown to be relatively insensitive to large changes of the average pion multiplicity in the individual spallation reactions. We characterize this robustness as a peculiar property of hadronic cascades in thick targets.
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2017
