Research of neutron fields and utilization of activation analysis in interdisciplinary approach

Abstract

The habilitation thesis is compiled in the form of commented set of scientific papers and deals with the applications of the neutron activation technique at the accelerator-driven fast neutron source NG-2 connected to the isochronous cyclotron U-120M of the NPI CAS in Řež and at the VR-1 training reactor operated by the FNSPE CTU in Prague. At the NG-2 neutron source, the neutron fields of the p + Be source reaction for the proton beams with energy of 35 MeV and 24 MeV and neutron fields of the d + Be reaction for 20 MeV and 15 MeV deuteron beams were investigated. New neutron energy spectra of the p(35) + Be, p(24) + Be, d(20) + Be and d(15) + Be reactions were determined. Newly developed neutron fields are important for exper imental tasks of nuclear data validation, radiation hardness tests of electronics against fast neutrons, for material research, and neutron activation analysis. In addition, the method of neutron activation analysis was applied at the VR-1 training reactor. The utilization of nuclear reactor in combination with the neutron activation analysis as a tool for investigation of sam ples interesting for humanities and social sciences within the interdisciplinary research was considered. The composition of the European dietary supplements, historical Tibetan coins, and traditional Tibetan medicinal pills, meteorites and tektites, and remains of woolly mam moth was successfully analyzed. Moreover, the neutron field parameters of the VR-1 training reactor were measured as well.