New approximations for the Doppler broadening function applied to the calculation of resonance self-shielding factors

The activation technique allows much more precise measurements of neutron intensity, relative or absolute. The technique requires the knowledge of the Doppler broadening function ψ(x,ξ) to determine the resonance self-shielding factors in the epithermal range Gepi (τ,ξ). Two new analytical approximations for the Doppler broadening function ψ(x,ξ) are proposed. The approximations proposed are compared with other methods found in literature for the calculation of the ψ(x,ξ) function, that is, the 4-pole Pade method and the Frobenius method, when applied to the calculation of Gepi (τ,ξ). The results obtained provided satisfactory accuracy. (authors)