English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

A portable monoenergetic 24 keV neutron source based on the $^{124}$Sb-$^9$Bephotoneutron reaction and an iron filter has been constructed andcharacterized. The coincidence of the neutron energy from SbBe and the lowinteraction cross-section with iron (mean free path up to 29 cm) makes pureiron specially suited to shield against gamma rays from $^{124}$Sb decays whileletting through the neutrons. To increase the $^{124}$Sb activity and thus theneutron flux, a $>$1 GBq $^{124}$Sb source was produced by irradiating anatural Sb metal pellet with a high flux of thermal neutrons in a nuclearreactor. The design of the source shielding structure makes for easytransportation and deployment. A hydrogen gas proportional counter is used tocharacterize the neutrons emitted by the source and a NaI detector is used forgamma background characterization. At the exit opening of the neutron beam, thecharacterization determined the neutron flux in the energy range 20-25 keV tobe 5.36$\pm$0.20 neutrons per cm$^2$ per second and the total gamma flux to be213$\pm$6 gammas per cm$^2$ per second (numbers scaled to 1 GBq activity of the$^{124}$Sb source). A liquid scintillator detector is demonstrated to besensitive to neutrons with incident kinetic energies from 8 to 17 keV, so itcan be paired with the source as a backing detector for neutron scatteringcalibration experiments. This photoneutron source provides a good tool forin-situ low energy nuclear recoil calibration for dark matter experiments andcoherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering experiments.

A portable and high intensity 24 keV neutron source based on $^{124}$Sb-$^{9}$Be photoneutrons and an iron filter