Measurement of the angular distribution of neutrons scattered from deuterium below 3 MeV

Abstract

The differential cross section of neutron scattering on deuterium was investigated in the energy range from 400 keV to 2.5 MeV using the recoil detection method, irradiating with monoenergetic neutrons a proportional counter filled with deuterated gases. Comparing simulations of the transport of neutrons and recoil nuclei in the detector to the experimental pulse-height distribution, it was possible to establish a procedure for the determination of the coefficients of the Legendre expansion of the n-d angular distribution.