IMPROVED CALCULATION OF THE PROMPT FISSION NEUTRON SPECTRUM FROM THE SPONTANEOUS FISSION OF 252Cf: PRELIMINARY RESULTS


David G. Madland

Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA


An improved calculation is presented for the prompt fission neutron spectrum N(E) from the spontaneous fission of 252Cf. In this calculation the fission-spectrum model of Madland and Nix is used, but with several improvements leading to a physically more accurate representation of the spectrum. Specifically, the contributions to N(E) from the entire fission-fragment mass and charge distributions will be calculated instead of calculating on the basis of a seven-point approximation to the peaks of these distributions as has been done in the past. Therefore, values of the energy release in fission, fission-fragment kinetic energy, and compound nucleus cross section for the inverse process will be considered on a point-by-point basis over the fragment yield distributions instead of considering averages of these quantities over the peaks of the distributions. Preliminary results will be presented and compared with a measurement, an earlier calculation, and a recent evaluation of the spectrum.

KEYWORDS: calculation, prompt fission neutron spectrum, spontaneous fission, 252Cf