Thermal neutron cross-section libraries for aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

Solid phases of aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, toluene, mesitylene and a 3:2 mixture by volume of mesitylene and toluene, were studied as potential moderator materials for a cold neutron source. Existing information on the (lattice) translational and rotational modes of the different molecular species was used to produce generalized frequency spectra; the latter included the internal vibrational modes which in turn involved the analysis of the weights of the different modes. Cross-section libraries were generated in ENDF and ACE formats for hydrogen bounded in those materials at several temperatures, and were used in Monte Carlo calculations to analyze their neutron production compared with standard cryogenic materials like liquid hydrogen and solid methane, the best moderators in terms of cold neutron production. In particular, cross-section libraries were generated at 20 K, which is a typical operating temperature for the majority of the existing cold neutron sources. It was found that those aromatic hydrocarbons produce neutron spectra which are slightly warmer than that of solid methane while presenting a high resistance to radiation, conforming in this way a new and advantageous alternative to traditional moderator materials.