TOTAL NEUTRON YIELDS OF <sup>9</sup>Be(a,n)<sup>12</sup>C AND <sup>9</sup>Be(d,n)<sup>10</sup>B REACTIONS USING VARIOS ALPHA EMITTERS*
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Cross-Section, Stopping Power, Neutron Yield, Neutron Source, Light Elements
Abstract
The cross-sections of 9Be(a,n)12C and 9Be(d,n)10Breactions have been calculated for alpha and deuteron energies from near threshold energy to10 MeV using recently published neutron yields as a Function of alpha and deuteron energies. An α-particle is a type of ionizing radiation consisting of two protons and two neutrons bound together, which is the same as the nucleus of a helium-4.The neutron yields Yo (n/10⁶ α) and Yo (n/10⁶ d) have been calculated using the evaluated cross sections and the stopping powers by applying Simpson’s rule. For 9Be(a,n)12C reaction the total neutron yields Yn(Be)(n/s/ga-emitter/ppm) have been calculated using the various alpha emitters such as (62Sm147, 64Gd148 , 66Dy154 , 72Hf174 , 76Os186 , 78Pt190 , 84Po109 , 84Po210 , 88Ra226 ,90Th232 , 91Pa231 , 92U234 , 92U235 , 92U238 , 93Np237 , 94Pu238 , 94Pu239 , 94Pu242 , 94Pu244 ,95Am241 , 95Am243 , 96Cm243 , 96Cm244 , 96Cm245 , 96Cm246 , 96Cm247 , 96Cm248 , 97Bk247 , 97Bk248 , 98Cf248 , 98Cf249 , 98Cf250 , 98Cf251 , 98Cf252 , 99ES252 , 99Es253, 99Es254 , 100Fm257 and 101Md258.The values of Yo (n/10⁶ α) and Yn(Be)(n/s/ga/ppm) have found to be in good agreement with those reported previously. This work evaluates the weighted average cross sections and derives an empirical formula to calculate the stopping powers for (d,n) reactions, enabling the determination of neutron yields Yo (n/10⁶ α) and Yo (n/10⁶ d), as well as the total neutron yield Yn(Be) (n/s/gα-emitter/ppm) for the ⁹Be(α,n)¹²C reaction. For the first time, (d,n) neutron yields for various α emitters are reported, with the ⁸⁴Po²¹⁰ + ⁹Be reaction yielding ⟨Eα⟩ = 5.30458 MeV, neutron yield 557.2, alpha yield 73.05, and a minimum χ² of 0.099. Similar results for other α emitters are summarized in the table, highlighting the reliability and significance of these findings for compact neutron source applications.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dlvin Saleem Kareem, and Ramadhan Hayder Abdullah
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