Abstract (eng)
The interest in neutron capture on 54Fe is linked to a variety of topics:
to studies of nucleosynthesis in stellar environments, to radioactive waste generation in fusion reactors and to the half-life of the long-lived 59Ni. In this regard samples have been irradiated with neutrons of energies in the range from thermal to MeV at several facilities, offering different irradiation conditions. The radionuclide 55Fe (half-life = 2.7 yr) produced in these activations, was measured at VERA (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator) via accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Due to the abscence of an isobaric interference, this technique allows highly sensitive detection of 55Fe. Such ultra-low isotope ratio measurements, however, require an accurate 55Fe-AMS standard as reference material to deduce absolute 55Fe/Fe ratios:
(1) At VERA, iron samples, highly enriched in 54Fe, were bombarded with 5.5 MeV protons to produce 55Co (half-life = 17.53 h), which decays to 55Fe. The total number of daughter-nuclides 55Fe was determined from the measured 55Co-activity.
(2) Another independent standard was produced by a dilution series of a certified 55Fe-standard-solution.
For the measurement of the thermal neutron capture cross section for 54Fe(n,gamma)55Fe, irradiations have been performed at the TRIGA Mark-II reactor of the Atominstitut in Vienna, and with cold neutrons at the Budapest Research Reactor. The thermal cross-section value was determined to 2.328 ± 0.060 barn.
This result has consequences on the value of the half-life of long-lived radioisotope 59Ni, which was measured by Nishiizumi et al. to (76 000 ± 5 000) y and by Rühm et al. to
(108 000 ± 13 000) y. The main contribution to the uncertainty of the latter value came from the cross-section value for 54Fe(n,gamma) which could be reduced to < 3 % in this work. With the new result for the neutron capture cross-section value on 54Fe and improved knowledge of additional contributions, the above mentioned 59Ni-half-life value of 108 000 y will change to (92 700 ± 5 000) y. The total uncertainty is reduced to 5.4 %.
Thermischer Neutroneneinfang-Wirkungsquerschnitt, AMS, VERA, 54Fe, 55Fe, 55Co, 59Ni, 55Fe-AMS standard, 54Fe(n,gamma) Halbwertszeit von 59Ni, Bestrahlungen mit Neutronen
Thermal neutron capture cross section, AMS, VERA, 54Fe, 55Fe, 55Co, 59Ni, 55Fe-AMS standard, 54Fe(n,gamma), half-life of 59Ni, neutron irradiations