Experimental study of the Phenomenology of Spallation Neutrons in a large lead block

The TARC Experiment is the second phase of the experimental program associated to the Energy Amplifier (EA) [1]. In the first experiment, FEAT [2], the amplification of the energy supplied by a proton beam, by means of a subcritical device, was measured and an excellent agreement was found with the prediction of the Monte Carlo developed for the EA project. Two critical aspects of the present concepts and applications of the EA are Targeted by TARC. First the study of the spallation and neutron transport in a large volume of pure lead, and second, the verification of the enhanced isotope transmutation inside the EA, by the Adiabatic Resonance Crossing mechanism. Both the data and the comparison with the predictions based on the presently available data bases and MC programs, provide useful information for the development of the ADS concepts. The TARC collaboration has collected a comprehensive and redundant set of high quality data on neutron fluxes and transmutation rates, that will provide a precise understanding of the subjacent basic process and an excellent benchmark for ADS simulation systems. At present we are finishing the detailed data analysis and starting the comparison with the predictions of the EA MC. In this sense all the data presented in this communication are still preliminary. (Author) 3 refs