An Introduction to Nuclear Fission

✍ Scribed by Walid Younes, Walter D. Loveland

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 198
• Series: Graduate Texts in Physics
• Edition: 1st ed. 2021
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This hands-on textbook introduces physics and nuclear engineering students to the experimental and theoretical aspects of fission physics for research and applications through worked examples and problem sets. The study of nuclear fission is currently undergoing a renaissance. Recent advances in the field create the opportunity to develop more reliable models of fission predictability and to supply measurements and data to critical applications including nuclear energy, national security and counter-proliferation, and medical isotope production. An Introduction to Nuclear Fission provides foundational knowledge for the next generation of researchers to contribute to nuclear fission physics.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 History
1.1 Fission as Basic Science
1.2 The Discovery of Fission
1.3 Focus: Three Important Scientists
1.3.1 Ida Tacke Noddack (1896–1978)
1.3.2 Irène Joliot-Curie (1897–1956)
1.3.3 Lise Meitner (1878–1968)
1.3.4 Closing Remarks
1.4 A First Model of Fission
1.4.1 The View of the Nucleus Before 1932
1.4.2 The Liquid-Drop Model
1.4.3 The Bohr-Wheeler Fission Model
1.5 Fission in the Cosmos
1.6 Structure of the Book
1.7 Additional Resources
1.8 Questions
1.9 Exercises
References
2 General Characteristics
2.1 Spontaneous and Induced Fission
2.2 Chronology of the Fission Process
2.3 Fission Cross Sections
2.4 Fragment Mass and Charge Distributions
2.5 Fission Energetics
2.6 Fission Barriers
2.7 Fission Isomers
2.8 Neutron and Gamma-Ray Distributions
2.9 Spallation Versus Fission
2.10 Online Resources for Fission Data
2.11 Questions
2.12 Exercises
References
3 Models
3.1 The Liquid-Drop Model
3.1.1 The Nuclear Shape
3.1.2 From Shape to Energy
3.2 Introduction to the Strutinsky Shell Correction Method
3.3 Potential Energy Surfaces
3.4 Scission Point Models
3.5 Kinematics of Fission Reactions
3.6 Fission Cross-Section Models
3.7 Questions
3.8 Exercises
References
4 Fission Fragments and Products
4.1 Fission-Fragment Detectors
4.2 Fragment Mass, Charge, and Kinetic Energy
4.2.1 Double-Energy Measurements
4.2.2 Modeling Fragments Mass and Charge Distributions
4.3 Excitation Energy of the Fragments
4.4 Angular Momentum and Angular Distribution of Fragments
4.5 Decay of Fragments
4.6 Computer Models of Fission-Fragment Properties
4.7 Questions
4.8 Exercises
References
5 Fission Neutrons and Gamma Rays
5.1 Neutron Beams
5.2 Neutron Detection
5.3 Neutrons Emitted Before and at Scission
5.4 Prompt Neutrons
5.4.1 Neutron Spectrum
5.4.2 Neutron Multiplicity
5.5 Delayed Neutrons
5.6 Photon-Induced Fission
5.7 Gamma-Ray Detection
5.8 The Use of Large Arrays of Gamma-Ray Detectors in Fission
5.9 General Properties of Fission Gamma Rays
5.10 From Detector Counts to Fragment Yield
5.11 Fragment Angular Momentum Deduced from Measured Gamma Rays
5.12 Questions
5.13 Exercises
References
6 Fission Models Revisited: Structure
6.1 Single-Particle Models
6.2 The Strutinsky Shell Correction Method Revisited
6.3 Pairing
6.4 Level Densities
6.4.1 The Many-Body State Density: Energy Dependence
6.4.2 The Many-Body State Density: Angular Momentum and Parity Dependence
6.4.3 The Many-Body State Density: Collective Enhancements
6.4.4 Additional Improvements
6.5 Advanced Topics
6.5.1 More Realistic Single-Particle Models
6.5.2 Matrix Formulation of the Schrödinger Equation
6.5.3 The Hartree-Fock Approximation
6.6 Questions
6.7 Exercises
References
7 Fission Models Revisited: Reactions and Dynamics
7.1 Scattering Theory
7.1.1 Introduction
7.1.2 Resonances and Widths
7.2 Hauser-Feshbach Theory
7.2.1 General Formalism
7.2.2 Transition State Theory
7.3 Other Types of Reactions Leading to Fission
7.3.1 Quasifission Reactions
7.3.2 Direct-Reaction-Induced Fission
7.4 Brief Survey of Advanced Topics
7.4.1 Semi-classical Methods
7.4.2 Quantum-Mechanical Methods
7.5 Questions
7.6 Exercises
References
8 Solutions to Selected Problems
8.1 Solutions for Chap.1
8.2 Solutions for Chap.2
8.3 Solutions for Chap.3
8.4 Solutions for Chap.4
8.5 Solutions for Chap.5
8.6 Solutions for Chap.6
8.7 Solutions for Chap.7
Index