Measurement of the high energy neutron flux on the surface of the natural uranium target assembly QUINTA irradiated by deuterons of 4 and 8 GeV energy

Experiments with the natural uranium target assembly “QUINTA” exposed to 4 and 8 GeV deuteron beams of the Nuclotron accelerator at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna) are analyzed. The reaction rates of 27Al(n,y1)24Na, 27Al(n,y2)22Na and 27Al(n,y3)7Be reactions with effective threshold energies of 5, 27, and 119 MeV were measured at both 4 GeV and 8 GeV deuteron beam energies. The average neutron fluxes between the effective threshold energies and the effective ends of the neutron spectra (which are 800 or 1000 MeV for 4 or 8 GeV deuterons) were determined. The evidence for the intensity shift of the neutron spectra to higher neutron energies with the increase of the deuteron energy from 4 GeV to 8 GeV was found from the ratios of the average neutron fluxes. The reaction rates and the average neutron fluxes were calculated with the MCNPX 2.7 code.