Neutron research at the N_TOF facility (CERN): Results and perspectives

Abstract

In the first ten years of operation, the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN has produced a large body of new and accurate data on neutron capture and fission cross sections, relevant to Nuclear Astrophysics and advanced nuclear technologies. In the next phase, with the construction of a second experimental area with a shorted flight path, the focus of the Collaboration will partially shift from high-resolution measurements of stable or long-lived isotopes, to high-flux measurements of isotopes of relatively short half-life, very low-cross sections, or available in very small quantities. The main results obtained so far at n_TOF and the future perspectives are here presented.