Introduction to nuclear reactions

Introduction to Nuclear Science

Simon Fraser University

Spring 2011

NUCS 342 — March 14, 2011

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 1 / 32

Outline

1 Notation

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 2 / 32

Outline

1 Notation

2 The energetics

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 2 / 32

Outline

1 Notation

2 The energetics

3 Cross section

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 2 / 32

Outline

1 Notation

2 The energetics

3 Cross section

4 Neutron-induced reactions

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 2 / 32

Outline

1 Notation

2 The energetics

3 Cross section

4 Neutron-induced reactions

5 Charged-particle induced reactions

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 2 / 32

Outline

1 Notation

2 The energetics

3 Cross section

4 Neutron-induced reactions

5 Charged-particle induced reactions

6 Tunneling

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 2 / 32

 Notation

Binary nuclear reactions

The binary reaction between the projectile a and target nucleus A

producing a nucleus B and outgoing particle b

a+A→B +b (1)

is abbreviated as A(a, b)B.

The entrance channel is a + A.

The exit channel is B + b.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 3 / 32

 The energetics

The Q-value

The heat or Q-value for the reaction is the energy released in the
reaction, which can be calculated from the mass difference between
the entrance and exit channels:

Qn = (Mn,a + Mn,A − Mn,B − Mn,b )c 2 . (2)

Exothermic reactions release heat and have Q > 0.

Endothermic reactions have Q < 0.

Endothermic reaction require heat above the threshold value of Q to

proceed. This heat comes from the kinetic energy of the projectile.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 4 / 32

 The energetics

The Q-value

The Q value can be extracted from the atomic masses:

Qa = Qn +(Za +ZA −ZB −Zb )me c 2 +Be (Za )+Be (ZA )−Be (ZB )−Be (Zb ).
(3)
If all the exit channel charge is in the produced nuclei charge
conservation requires Za + ZA − ZB − Zb = 0.

Therefore
Qa = Qn + ∆Be . (4)
The difference between electron binding in the entrance and exit
channel is usually small compared to the nuclear Qn value:

Be = +Be (Za ) + Be (ZA ) − Be (ZB ) − Be (Zb ) << Qn . (5)

Therefore, usually Qa ≈ Qn .
NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 5 / 32
 The energetics

Atomic and nuclear Q-values

For reactions involving charged lepton production the atomic Q value
is differs from the nuclear Q value since the condition
Za + ZA − ZB − Zb = 0 is not fulfilled.

Let us consider the Hydrogen burning reaction which proceeds via the
weak interactions
p + p → d + e + + ν̄. (6)
The atomic Q value is
Qa = (2 ∗ Ma,H − Ma,2 H )c 2 = 1.44 MeV. (7)
The nuclear Q value is
Qn = (2 ∗ Mn,p − Mn,d )c 2 = 0.93 MeV. (8)
Atomic Q value includes the energy released in annihilation of the
positron, while nuclear Q value does not include this energy.
NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 6 / 32
 The energetics

The Q-value

Atomic masses are usually tabulated in terms of atomic mass excess:

∆Ma = (M − AMu )c 2 (9)

with Mu being the atomic mass unit:

1
Mu c 2 = M(12 C )c 2 = 931.50 MeV. (10)
12
Note that ∆Ma 6= ∆Mn but ∆Ma ' ∆Mn .

The ratio ∆M
Ma ≈ 0.1% − 1% represents the conversion factor from
a

mass to energy in nuclear reactions.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 7 / 32

 Cross section

Q value

Q value measures the energy liberated or consumed in a nuclear

reaction.

Q values are relatively easy to measure and are usually known with
high precision from mass measurements.

The Q value carry very limited information on reaction rates: for

endothermic reactions the rate is zero if the kinetic energy of the
projectile is not sufficient to overcome the Q value threshold.

Other than that, the Q value alone does not allow to predict reaction
rates.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 8 / 32

 Cross section

Beer-Lambert law in optics

Transmission intensity (number of particles per second) I1 for a beam

of particles traversing a thin target with thickness x depends on the
target thickness and initial intensity:
 x
I1 = I0 exp − . (11)
l

This also applies to elementary particles passing through thin targets.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 9 / 32
 Cross section

Mean free path

Parameter l referred to as the mean free path is the mean distance for
particles to be removed from the beam.

Intensity decreases due to the beam interactions with atoms or nuclei

in the target.

Mean free path has to be related to the number of atoms per unit
volume, referred to as the number density N.

The relation is the inverse proportionality: larger N smaller l.

The proportionality constant multiplying N is called the cross section

σ. With this definition the relation between l, n and σ is
1
l= (12)
Nσ
NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 10 / 32
 Cross section

The reaction rate

Inserting the cross section to the Beer-Lambert law results in:

I1 = I0 exp (−Nσx) . (13)

Number of particles removed from the beam is equal to the number

of reactions per second or the reaction rate:

R = I0 − I = I0 (1 − exp (−Nσx)) . (14)

A thin target is a target for which

x
= Nσx << 1. (15)
l
In this case

exp (−Nσx) ≈ 1 − Nσx and R = I0 Nσx. (16)

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 11 / 32

 Cross section

The cross section

The dimension of a cross section is that of an area:

" #
1 1
σ= , [σ] = 1 = [m2 ]. (17)
Nl m3
m

The cross section represents an effective area

for interaction of a single target atom.
For a infinitesimally thin target Ndx is the
number of atoms per target surface area. This
arises from a fact that probability of an atom
to be screened from the interaction with the
beam by another atom is very small.
In such a case Nσdx is the fraction of atoms
interacting with the beam.
NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 12 / 32
 Cross section

The unit of a cross section

The unit of a cross section is a barn 1 [b]= 10−28 [ m2 ].

From the nuclear interaction points of view the target is mostly

empty. Indeed a separation between atoms is ∼ 10−10 m while a
nuclear sizes are on the order of ∼ 10−15 m.

Consequently nuclear cross sections are

small.

If a reaction has 1 barn cross section it

implies that it is as easy to hit the
target nucleus as to hit a barn.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 13 / 32

 Cross section

Geometric approximation

If we knew the radii of the target Rt and the projectile Rp the

geometric approximation for the cross section would be an area of a
disc with the radius of RS = Rt + Rp

σ = πRs2 = π(Rt + Rp )2 . (18)

1
With the nuclear radius definition RN = R0 A 3 and R0 = 1.3 fm the
geometric cross sections are:

σ = 0.2 [b] for 1 H+1 H,

σ = 2.8 [b] for 1 H+238 U,
σ = 4.8 [b] for 238 U+238 U,

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 14 / 32

 Cross section

The proper treatment

The proper derivation of a reaction cross section includes quantum

mechanical treatment of interaction between the target and projectile.
There are significant discrepancies between the realistic cross sections
and geometrical estimates.
For example, real cross sections are energy dependent, while the
geometric approximation is not.
Various fundamental interactions give very different scales for typical
cross sections. Assuming 2 MeV for the projectile energy
for the weak force and p(p, e + ν)d reaction σ ≈ 10−20 [b],
for the E-M force and 3 He(α,γ)7 Be reaction σ ≈ 10−6 [b],
15
for the strong force and N(p,α)12 C reaction σ ≈ 0.5 [b],

If possible, cross sections are measured rather than derived.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 15 / 32

 Neutron-induced reactions

Neutron-induced reactions
Neutrons do not have charge, there is no long-range electromagnetic
interactions with the nucleus, neutron trajectories are straight lines.
The only interactions are the short-range ∼fm nuclear interactions.
A good approximation is provided by the “black disc” model, all
neutrons with impact parameter b smaller than the range of nuclear
interactions R will react.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 16 / 32

 Neutron-induced reactions

Centrifugal barrier
The energy of the neutron in the center of mass is
mv 2
E =K +V = + V (r ). (19)
2
Using the radial coordinates
v 2 = vr2 (r ) + vφ2 (r ) = vr2 (r ) + r 2 ω 2 (r ). (20)

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 17 / 32

 Neutron-induced reactions

Centrifugal barrier

The angular speed ω can be expressed using angular momentum L

L
L = µr 2 ω, or ω = . (21)
µr 2
Combining the above gives the following for the energy

µvr2 L2
E= + + V (r ). (22)
2 2µr 2
Angular momentum for a collision is conserved and quantized

L2 = l(l + 1)~2 . (23)

The energy can be splitted into the part which depends on radial
speed and one which depends on the relative distance r .

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 18 / 32

 Neutron-induced reactions

Centrifugal barrier

The part of energy which depends on the relative distance consist of

L2
the potential energy V (r ) and the centrifugal barrier 2µr 2.

The diagram of r -dependent terms of energy as a function of the

relative distance is a conveninet way to represent collision energetics.

Potential for nuclear

interactions assumed to have
-50 MeV depth and radius of
5 fm. Graphs are:
green for l=0 ~
red for l=1 ~
blue for l=2 ~
purple for E = 2 MeV.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 19 / 32

 Neutron-induced reactions

Thermal neutrons

The energy of the neutrons is defined by the temperature.

The temperature range of 106 up to 109 deg. K corresponds to the

energies of 0.13 keV up to 130 keV.

Neutrons in this energy range are called thermal.

The energy of a neutron required to cross the centrifugal barrier at

l = 1 and R = 5 fm in a collision with a heavy nucleus µ ∼ mn

l(l + 1)~2 2 ∗ 1972

E> = ∼ 1.65 [MeV]. (24)
2µR 2 2 ∗ 940 ∗ 52
Therefore thermal neutron induced reactions have l = 0.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 20 / 32

 Neutron-induced reactions

Thermal neutron cross section

For thermal neutron the cross section for capture is
1
σ∝ . (25)
v

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 21 / 32

 Charged-particle induced reactions

Energy for charged-particle interactions

The total energy is

mv 2
E =K +V = + VC (r ) + VN (r ), (26)
2
with VC (r ) and VN (r ) representing the electromagnetic (Coulomb)
and nuclear interactions.

Centrifugal and Coulomb barrier can be separated which leads to:

µvr2 L2 1 Z1 Z2 e 2
E= + + + VN (r ) (27)
2 2µr 2 4πε0 r

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 22 / 32

 Charged-particle induced reactions

Energy for charged-particle interactions

The total energy is

mv 2
E =K +V = + VC (r ) + VN (r ), (28)
2
with VC (r ) and VN (r ) representing the electromagnetic (Coulomb)
and nuclear interactions.

Centrifugal and Coulomb barrier can be separated which leads to:

µvr2 L2 1 Z1 Z2 e 2
E= + + + VN (r ) (29)
2 2µr 2 4πε0 r
For heavier nuclei at distances larger than the range of nuclear
interactions the Coulomb barrier dominates the centrifugal barrier.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 23 / 32

 Charged-particle induced reactions

Energy for charged-particle interactions

The graphs show
L2 1 Z1 Z2 e 2
2
+ + VN (r ) (30)
2µr 4πε0 r
for the p + p on the left and the 12 C + α reaction on the right. The
red, green, and blue are for L = 0, 1, and 2 [~], respectively.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 24 / 32

 Tunneling

Classical turning point

Coulomb barrier for the hydrogen burning is EC ∼ 550 keV.

This corresponds to the temperature of T = 6.4 × 109 K much higher

then TJ = 0.01 × 109 observed for the Sun.

Average energy at TJ = 0.01 × 109 is 0.86 keV.

At this temperature the classical mechanics forbids protons to

interact.

The fraction of particles with energy above 550 keV in the

Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution with mean energy of 0.86 keV is very
small.
According to classical mechanics stars do not shine.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 25 / 32

 Tunneling

Classical turning point

This is because of the fact that the particles at energy lower than the
Coulomb barrier should start moving away from the interaction center
at the classical turning point.

On the graph the red line is the

Coulomb energy as the function
of radius for the hydrogen
burning, green line represents
zero energy, while the blue line
represents center of mass energy
of 30 keV. The classical turning
point for these conditions is at
R ∼ 47 [fm].

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 26 / 32

 Tunneling

Tunneling

Quantum mechanics allow particles to tunnel through the barrier.

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 Tunneling

Tunneling
The probability of finding a particle across the barrier is given by the
amplitude squared of the wave function.
| Ψ(RN ) |2
P= , (31)
| Ψ(RC ) |2
with RN and RC being the nuclear radius and the distance to the
classical turning point, respectively.

The barrier suppresses the amplitude of the wave function, but not
completely.

The degree of suppression is calculable for the Coulomb potential and

is given by
  q 
arctan RRNC − 1 RN
r
P = exp −2KRC  q −  , K = 2µ (EC − E )
RC RC ~2
RN − 1

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 28 / 32

 Tunneling

The approximation for P

If the distance to the classical turning point is much larger than the
nuclear radius RC >> RN which is equivalent to E << EC the
tunneling probability is well approximated by
 
1
P = exp −b √ , (32)
E
with √
√
r
2µ Z1 Z2 e 2 A1 A2
b= = 31.29Z1 Z2 keV. (33)
40 ~ A1 + A2
P is a very rapidly changing function of the energy.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 29 / 32

 Tunneling

Excitation function
Reaction cross section depends on the energy available in the
entrance channel.
The change of cross section as a function of energy in the entrance
channel is referred to as the excitation function.
The shape of the excitation function is very different for the
neutron-induced reaction as compared to the charged-particle induced
reaction.
The excitation function increases with decreasing energy for neutrons,
but decreases very fast for charged particles.
This is directly related to the suppression of the reaction rate by the
Coulomb barrier for charged particles which is not present in
neutron-induced reactions.
The sub-barrier charged particle reaction are strongly suppressed.
NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 30 / 32
 Tunneling

Excitation function

For both, neutron and charge-particle induced reactions the excitation

functions comprises of a superposition of a slow varying part, which is
called the non-resonant part, and a fast changing part, which is called
the resonant part.

The resonant part depends very strongly on nuclear structure, in

particular on the location of energy states in the compound system
form in the fusion of the projectile and the target.

The non-resonant part depends on the global properties of the

projectile/target systems such as the height of the
centrifugal/Coulomb barrier for the neutral/charged particles.

At large energies the cross section approach the geometric cross

section from the black disk model.

NUCS 342 (Lecture 21) March 14, 2011 31 / 32

 Tunneling

Total reaction cross section

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