In the realm of nuclear physics and energy research, a team of scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, has been delving into the complexities of nuclear transmutation in heavy-ion colliders. The researchers, I. A. Pshenichnov, S. D. Savenkov, and A. O. Svetlichnyi, have recently published their findings in a study titled “Challenge of nuclear transmutation in heavy-ion colliders.”
The study focuses on the production of secondary nuclei during the hadronic fragmentation and electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of neon-20 ($^{20}$Ne) beams at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and xenon-124 ($^{124}$Xe) beams at the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA). The researchers found that for light nuclei at LHC energies, hadronic interactions are the primary channel for nuclear transmutation, unlike the previously observed dominance of EMD in lead-208 ($^{208}$Pb) collisions.
For $^{20}$Ne-$^{20}$Ne collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.36 TeV, the team calculated cross sections and momentum distributions of produced nuclei such as helium-4 ($^4$He), carbon-12 ($^{12}$C), nitrogen-14 ($^{14}$N), and oxygen-16 ($^{16}$O). These results are crucial for evaluating potential contamination of the $^{20}$Ne-$^{20}$Ne event sample by collisions involving other nuclear species. The researchers also noted that while secondary nuclei will be produced in the EMD of $^{124}$Xe beams at NICA, they will not contaminate $^{124}$Xe-$^{124}$Xe data.
The practical applications of this research for the energy sector are primarily in the field of nuclear energy and waste management. Understanding nuclear transmutation processes can aid in the development of advanced nuclear reactors and the management of nuclear waste. By converting long-lived radioactive isotopes into shorter-lived or stable ones, nuclear transmutation can reduce the radiotoxicity and heat load of nuclear waste, making it safer and easier to handle. This research was published in the journal Physical Review C.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.