Neutron spectra from photonuclear reactions: Performance testing of Monte-Carlo particle transport simulation codes

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2FCZ______%3A_____%2F24%3AN0000087" target="_blank" >RIV/CZ______:_____/24:N0000087 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168583X24000624?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168583X24000624?via%3Dihub</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2024.165292" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.nimb.2024.165292</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Neutron spectra from photonuclear reactions: Performance testing of Monte-Carlo particle transport simulation codes

Original language description

The production of neutrons in photon-induced nuclear reactions in the giant-dipole-resonance energy domain remains a topic of high interest for various applications, including the activation and decommissioning of electron accelerator facilities, the detection of illicit materials for homeland security, and the evaluation of neutron dose received by patients during radiotherapy treatments. General-purpose Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation codes for particle transport are intensively used to account for photoneutron production in these applications. However, due to the current scarcity of measured photoneutron energy spectra in the literature, experimental validation of MC-simulated photoneutron energy distributions is not always feasible. Therefore, a critical benchmark among simulation results from various MC codes presently appears as the only option to systematically assess their capabilities in accurately simulating photoneutron production for nuclear reactions of interest. In this work, neutron energy spectra from several targets under irradiation by 20 MeV photons are simulated, employing various state-of-the-art MC codes (FLUKA, Geant4, MCNP6, and PHITS) in their default or generally employed settings. A detailed analysis of the simulated neutron spectra allows one to not only assess the performance of various MC codes in applications such as those mentioned above, but also to partially gauge the incurred systematic uncertainty, and to highlight the present need for more comprehensive evaluated nuclear data in this domain. Ultimately, this work suggests that more prudence is required when using MC codes for applications where photonuclear reactions play a dominant role and where not only the production rate but also the energy spectrum of the emitted neutrons matters.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

21100 - Other engineering and technologies

Project

—

Continuities

V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research

ISSN

0168-583X

e-ISSN

1872-9584

Volume of the periodical

549

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

165292

UT code for WoS article

001202995500001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85185399436