Neutron spectroscopy with soft computing: unfolding of the neutron energy spectrum using the developed computer code based on Adaptive Group of Ink Drop Spread (AGIDS)

This paper presents the developed computer codes based on the Adaptive Group of Ink Drop Spread (AGIDS) algorithm [1] for the reconstruction of the energy spectrum of the neutron source. The required data are generated via simulation of the neutron pulse height distributions due to randomly generated energy spectra with the MCNPX-ESUT computer code [2]. The simulated neutron pulse height distributions and corresponding randomly generated energy spectra are the input and output data of the developed computer code, respectively. As a case study, the ²⁴¹Am-⁹Be neutron source is studied and the simulation of the neutron pulse height distribution of the NE-213 liquid organic scintillator is performed using the MCNPX-ESUT computer code. It is shown that the reconstructed energy spectrum of the ²⁴¹Am-⁹Be neutron source has an excellent agreement with the reference spectrum provided by the International Standard Organization for neutron spectroscopy (ISO) [3].