Production of high-energy neutrons by interaction of a deuteron beam with matter

Highlights: • Microcosmic deuteron-induced reaction and macroscopic deuteron beam interaction are coupled. • The deuteron-induced reaction is simulated by the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. • The neutron yields in the interaction of a deuteron beam with a thick target are studied by a analytical method. • The considerable uncertainty of neutron production cross sections in deuteron-induced spallation is indicated. • It is suggested to build high-energy neutron generators based on interaction of a deuteron beam with matter. Experimental double differential cross section data for neutrons in the high-energy region are still scarce because of the difficulty of producing high-energy neutrons. The present work studies the possibility of producing high-energy neutrons by interaction of a deuteron beam with matter. The Geant4 toolkit is used to simulate the interaction between a deuteron beam and matter. An analytical method is also developed to calculate the neutron yields produced in the interaction of the deuteron beam with matter. The input cross section data are not only taken from the TEDNL-2017 library but are also calculated by the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. It is shown that it is possible to produce high-energy neutrons by interaction of a deuteron beam with matter. If one wishes to produce high-energy neutrons, a low-$Z$ target and a small emission angle may be considered. A thin target is a good choice if one wishes to produce neutrons with a smaller energy peak width.