Measurement of induced radioactivity in a spallation neutron field of a mercury target for GeV-proton bombardment

An integral experiment on radioactivity induced in spallation neutron fields was carried out under the ASTE (AGS-Spallation Target Experiment) collaboration using AGS (Alternative Gradient Synchrotron) at BNL (Brookhaven National Laboratory). The spallation neutrons were produced by bombarding a mercury target with protons of 1.6, 12 and 24 GeV. The number of protons was 3 - 4 x 1013 for each irradiation. The irradiated materials were titanium, nickel, cobalt, yttrium, and bismuth, and placed on the cylindrical surface of the mercury target at the distance of 15 - 16 cm from the beam-incident-surface of the target. Disintegration rates of induced radioactivities were measured at several cooling-time ranging from hours to months. The principal nuclides contributing to the radioactivity were pointed out for each material. The experimental results for bismuth were compared with the calculations with DCAHIN-SP code. (author)