Neutron fibres: a possible application of neutron optics

The authors study confined propagation of slow (thermal) neutrons along (non-hollow) solid fibres made of certain elements (Ti, Mn, ...) such that amplitude for the low-energy nuclear scattering of neutrons on them be negative. Geometrical optics and quasiclassical descriptions, procedures for confi...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Fernández Álvarez-Estrada, Ramón, Calvo Padilla, María Luisa
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:1984
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/64941
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/64941
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:535
Applied Physics
Óptica (Física)
2209.19 Óptica Física
Descrição
Resumo:The authors study confined propagation of slow (thermal) neutrons along (non-hollow) solid fibres made of certain elements (Ti, Mn, ...) such that amplitude for the low-energy nuclear scattering of neutrons on them be negative. Geometrical optics and quasiclassical descriptions, procedures for confining the neutrons, and some applications to radiotherapy are outlined. The confined propagation modes for slow neutrons along infinite homogeneous circular fibres without and with nuclear absorption are analysed. Some estimates of the spectral density in the neutron flux and its attenuation are outlined. In order to assess lattice periodicity effects, the potential seen by a neutron inside an infinite periodic solid fibre and its confined propagation are discussed in detail. Here the authors find wide allowed and small forbidden bands for the neutron energy along the periodic fibre: well inside the allowed bands the neutron propagation modes reduce, as a first approximation, to those for the homogeneous fibre. Lattice vibration effects and the penetration, confinement and eventual scattering of neutrons by a homogeneous fibre are also analysed.