Energy Dependence of Cross Sections 𝝈 (𝑬)

As mentioned earlier each microscopic cross section depends only on

two factors, (i) the energy of the incident 𝑬 neutron striking the target
nucleus and (ii) the property (mass) of the target nucleus itself. For each
nucleus generally 𝝈 𝑬 is a very complicated function of energy. These
cross sections are experimentally measured at number of energy points
and they are tabulated as point cross section data file which are available
universally. These are updated periodically as more accurate experiments
are made. Each country relies on its own cross section data file.
To get a general idea of the variation of 𝝈 (𝑬) the nuclei are broadly
divided into three groups, (i) light (e.g. H, He, C, etc.); (ii) intermediate
(e.g. Fe, Co, Ni, Al, etc.) and (iii) heavy (e.g. Pb, U, Pu, etc.). Without
getting into the details of various individual cross sections, we can make
a few general observations for different categories of nuclei encountered
in the reactor core. We will thus examine the variation of various cross
sections, such as 𝝈𝒔 , 𝝈𝜸 , 𝝈𝒇 , etc. for various categories, such as light,
intermediate and heavy nuclei. There will be a few additional factors,
particularly for heavy nuclides, such as Doppler Broadening which will
be discussed.
Elastic Scattering 𝝈𝒔

• Fairly constant at low energies up to about MeV region

• Resonances at some energies where cross section becomes large

• Fairly wide resonances (width about KeV) for light nuclei and very
narrow and sharp for heavy nuclei.

• Above the resonances the variation of 𝝈𝒔 is smooth and slowly varying

Inelastic Scattering 𝝈𝒊

This process occurs due to the formation of compound nucleus and

hence it does not occur below some threshold energy. Above that its
variation is similar to the elastic scattering 𝝈𝒔 .

Radiative Capture 𝝈𝜸

This is one of the most important cross sections besides fission, as it is

responsible for the disappearance of neutrons from the reactor core.
Radiative capture is a two stage process. In the first stage a compound
nucleus is formed.
𝑨 ∗
𝒁 + 𝒏𝟏 𝒁𝑨+𝟏 (𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆)

𝑨+𝟏 ∗
The excited nucleus 𝒁 has the energy equal to the binding energy
of the last neutron plus the kinetic energy of the neutron. The compound
 𝑨+𝟏 ∗
nucleus 𝒁 may further decay by either the emission of another
neutron (scattering), or by 𝜸 ray emission (radiative capture) or in case
of some heavy nuclei even by fission of the nucleus, each having
definite probability for various nuclei at various energies. Typically, for a
heavy nucleus the probability for scattering is lower than capture, while
for lighter nuclei probability of capture is small. At very low energies
(thermal energies in the eV region), 𝝈𝜸 varies as 𝟏Τ𝒗 where 𝒗 is the

speed of the neutron, i.e., 𝝈𝜸 is proportional to 𝟏ൗ 𝑬

. Near an isolated

resonance at say energy 𝑬𝟏 , 𝝈𝜸 peaks to high value. At higher energies

𝝈𝜸 varies as 𝟏Τ𝑬 or faster.

Fission Cross Section 𝝈𝒇

This cross section is zero for most nuclei (light and intermediate) and is
non-zero only for some heavy nuclides called Fissile or Fissionable.
For these nuclides again 𝝈𝒇 varies similar to 𝝈𝜸 at low energies and
peaks near resonances and varies smoothly as 𝟏Τ𝑬 or faster at higher
energies. The total cross section is just the sum of all different cross
sections at any energy, i.e., 𝝈𝒕 𝑬 = 𝝈𝒔 𝑬 + 𝝈𝜸 𝑬 + ⋯ + 𝝈𝒇 (𝑬)
Nuclear Doppler Effect

The nuclear doppler effect derives its name from a similar phenomenon
in the acoustics. So far we have assumed that the target nucleus is
stationary (at rest) in the lab system. This is never strictly true due to the
thermal motion (vibration) of the nucleus. At higher energies of neutrons
we can neglect the thermal motion of the target nucleus and treat them
as stationary. However, at thermal energies of neutrons the relative
motion between the neutron and nucleus becomes important, particularly
near the resonances where cross sections are strong functions of energy.
The fundamental energy in the evaluation of cross section is 𝑬𝒄 which is
the energy as measured in the center of mass system of the two particle
system. This 𝑬𝒄 depends upon the relative speed between the neutron
𝟏
and the target nucleus, i.e., 𝑬𝒄 = 𝝁 𝒗𝟐𝒓 where 𝝁 is the reduced mass of
𝟐

𝒎𝑴 𝑨
the two particle system, i.e., 𝝁 = = where 𝒎 is the mass of
(𝒎+𝑴) (𝑨+𝟏)

𝑴
neutron, 𝑴 is the mass of target and 𝑨 is the atomic mass number 𝑨 =
𝒎

and 𝒗𝒓 is the relative speed 𝒗𝒓 = 𝒗 − 𝑽 where 𝒗 and 𝑽 are the neutron

and target nucleus velocities in the lab system. Now it is clear that even
for the same speeds of neutron and nucleus, the relative speed will be
larger if the two particles are approaching each other than if they are
moving in the same direction.

𝒏 𝒏
𝑵 𝑵
𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒓 larger 𝒗𝒓
Thus, for the same neutron speed in the lab system, its energy in the
center of mass system 𝑬𝒄 will appear to have a spread depending on
how the target nucleus moves due to its thermal motion. Since the cross
section, say 𝝈𝜸 (𝑬𝒄 ) depends on 𝑬𝒄 it will also vary. Near a resonance
which peaks at a particular energy 𝑬𝒄 when we integrate over all the velocities
of the neutron and nucleus (which is supposed to have a Maxwell-Boltzmann
distribution of velocities at thermal energies), the net result is that the effective
𝝈𝜸 (𝑬) as observed in the lab system depends upon the temperature of the
medium, i.e., it is 𝝈𝜸 (𝑬, 𝑻). It turns out that 𝝈𝜸 (𝑬, 𝑻) becomes less peaked and
more broad as the temperature 𝑻 of the medium increases. This effectively
increases the capture rate of neutrons at higher temperature. This
phenomenon imparts instant stability to the reactor operation, since if by some
abnormal occurrence the reactor power increases, this leads to increase in the
temperature and this leads to the increase in capture of neutrons bringing back
the power to previous value. This effect is known as the “Doppler Effect” and
it is instantaneous, bringing the stability to the reactor operation. Below
we give a typical Doppler Broadened cross section of 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 nucleus
around the resonance of 6.67 eV energy level.
 Nuclear Fission

This is by far the most important nuclear reaction occurring in a reactor

and it is the prime source of nuclear energy in a nuclear reactor. As we
had seen earlier, for all those nuclei with the atomic mass no. A > 50 the
binding energy/nucleon decreases and for these nuclei a stable
configuration will be formed if a heavier nucleus splits into two lighter
nuclei, i.e., they are eligible candidates for nuclear fission. This however,
does not readily happen for all nuclei with A > 50 but rather happens
only for a very few heavy nuclei at the far end of the atomic mass
number. The reason for this lies in the potential energy curve for the
fission process. If we visualize the fission process, we get the following
stages. First, the compound nucleus formed when a neutron strikes a
heavy nucleus gets deformed from its spherical shape due to high
energy of excitation it has acquired.
𝒓
𝒛, (𝑨 + 𝟏)∗ 𝒓

𝒁𝟏 , 𝑨𝟏 𝒁𝟐 , 𝑨𝟐
𝑫𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒖𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒔

If conditions are favourable, then this may deform further and split into
two nuclei (𝒁𝟏 , 𝑨𝟏 ) and (𝒁𝟐 , 𝑨𝟐 ). If one plots the potential energy of the
combined two nuclei system as a function of the distance r between their
centers, then we obtain the following curve.

𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕
𝟏
𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 ~
𝒓

~(𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐 ) 𝒓

Initially there is the nuclear attractive force between nucleons to be overcome

resisting the splitting of the nucleus. As a result the potential energy of the
system increases till a point approximately 𝒓~(𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐 ) where 𝑹𝟏 and
𝑹𝟐 are the radii of the two resulting nuclei after the split. After the
separation is complete, then subsequently the potential energy
decreases as the coulomb potential between the two positively charged
𝟏
ions 𝒁𝟏 and 𝒁𝟐 as ~ . The difference between the P.E. of the system
𝒓

when the ions are infinitely separated and when they are together at
𝒓 = 𝟎 is precisely the Q value (difference between the B.E.’s before and
after the fission). The initial increase in the potential energy of the system
is called the “Critical Energy 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 ” which must be available with the
splitting compound nucleus 𝒛, (𝑨 + 𝟏)∗ to overcome the hump of 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 .
If this energy 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 is not available with the splitting nucleus, the fission
can not take place even if the overall Q value is positive. Thus 𝑸 > 𝟎 is a
necessary condition but not sufficient for fission to take place. Therefore,
not all heavy nuclei with 𝑨 > 𝟓𝟎 for which 𝑸 > 𝟎 is satisfied, will undergo
fission but only some do. Now the source of the excitation energy of the
splitting nucleus 𝒛, (𝑨 + 𝟏)∗ comes from the Binding Energy (Energy of
Separation) of the last (𝑨 + 𝟏)𝒕𝒉 nucleon plus any kinetic energy
possessed by the neutron striking the nucleus. Thus the necessary
condition of fission is 𝑩𝑬 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒏 + 𝑲𝑬 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏 > 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 .
Now, realistic KE’s of neutrons in a reactor are of the order of few MeV.
 𝑨
Thus, we can conclude that those nuclei 𝒛𝑴 for which the BE of separation of
the last nucleon in 𝑨+𝟏𝑴 is greater than 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 or even smaller than 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 by only
𝒛

a few MeV are called “fissionable” nuclei. In particular, among these, those
𝑨 𝑨+𝟏
nuclei 𝒛𝑴 for which the BE of separation of the last nucleon in 𝒛𝑴 is greater
𝑨
than 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 , then these nuclei 𝒛𝑴 are called “fissile” nuclei. Thus, in fissile
nuclei even a zero kinetic energy neutron is capable of causing fission. It turns
out that there are only three nuclei 𝑨𝒛𝑴 for which this condition is met, i.e., BE
𝑨+𝟏𝑴
of separation of the last nucleon in 𝒛 is greater than 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 . These nuclei are
𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 , 𝑷𝒖𝟐𝟑𝟗 and 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟑 . Of the three only 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 occurs naturally. The other two
are produced in a reactor. There are a few other isotopes of Pu which satisfy
this criteria, but they occur in insignificant quantities in a working reactor.
Refer to a table (Table 3.3) “Critical Energies for Fission in MeV” in the
text on p. 77. From this it is clear to identify the fissile isotopes as
𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 , 𝑷𝒖𝟐𝟑𝟗 and 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟑 where 𝑬𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 is smaller than BE of the last neutron.
These fissile nuclei are used in form of various chemical compounds,
such as oxide, carbide or even as metal. Of these 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 is the only
naturally occurring isotope in form of natural uranium which has more
than 99% (99.28%) as 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 and only 0.72% as 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 . Since 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 is not
fissile but only fissionable, natural uranium is not suitable as a fuel in
most reactors where it needs slight enrichment of 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 to about 3-5% to
form a critical system in light water (𝑯𝟐 𝑶) moderated reactors. However,
the other isotope in natural uranium 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 is useful in another way. When
bombarded with neutrons in a reactor it produces 𝑷𝒖𝟐𝟑𝟗 through the
following reaction. This isotope is fissile. Also, similar to 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 there is
another isotope 𝑻𝒉𝟐𝟑𝟐 (thorium) which occurs abundantly in some areas,
e.g. in Kerala beaches as Monazite and which produces 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟑 (fissile)
when bombarded with neutrons in a reactor through the following
reactions.
ഥ 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒚
𝜷 ഥ 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒚
𝜷
𝑻𝒉𝟐𝟑𝟐 (𝒏, 𝜸)𝑻𝒉𝟐𝟑𝟑 𝑷𝒂𝟐𝟑𝟑 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟑 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆
ഥ 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒚
𝜷 ഥ 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒚
𝜷
𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 𝒏, 𝜸 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟗 𝑵𝒑𝟐𝟑𝟗 𝑷𝒖𝟐𝟑𝟗 (𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆)
The isotopes such as 𝑻𝒉𝟐𝟑𝟐 and 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 which are themselves not fissile
(though fissionable) but produce fissile isotopes (𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟑 and 𝑷𝒖𝟐𝟑𝟗 ) as a
result of neutron absorption are called “fertile” isotopes. They hold the
key to tapping large scale nuclear energy from their abundant availability.

Fission Cross Section

Like other cross sections, the fission cross section 𝝈𝒇 is also a function
of energy. For fissile nuclei, (𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟓 , 𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟑 and 𝑷𝒖𝟐𝟑𝟗 ) at low (thermal)
𝟏
energies 𝝈𝒇 is very large and decreases as with increasing energy. In
𝒗

the KeV region 𝝈𝒇 exhibits resonances and it grows to very high values.
For higher energies 𝝈𝒇 appears smooth and slowly varying. For
fissionable nuclei (𝑼𝟐𝟑𝟖 , 𝑻𝒉𝟐𝟑𝟐 ) on the other hand, since zero energy
neutrons can not cause fission, there is a threshold energy below which
𝝈𝒇 is zero. After that it increases smoothly with energy. Now apart from
fission, the fissionable nuclei (also fissile nuclei) interact with neutrons in
the capture interaction with cross section 𝝈𝜸 . The total absorption
(removal) of neutrons in the reactor is the sum of these two interactions.
Then one can define an absorption cross section 𝝈𝒂 is just the sum of the
two cross sections, i.e., 𝝈𝒂 = 𝝈𝒇 + 𝝈𝜸 . Thus, when a fissile nucleus
absorbs neutron to form a compound nucleus, the resulting nucleus can
decay in several ways. At low energies scattering is less probable. Fission
and capture are the principal modes of decay of the compound nucleus.
The relative probability of capture vs. fission is designated by a parameter
𝝈𝜸
called the “capture to fission ratio”. It is defined as 𝜶 = . Since both
𝝈𝒇

𝝈𝒇 and 𝝈𝜸 are functions of energy, so will be 𝜶(𝑬). A high value of 𝜶(𝑬)

means low probability of fission vs. capture. At high energies generally,
𝜶(𝑬) decreases and this leads to higher probability of fission vs. capture.
This has consequences on the number of fissions and neutrons produced
in fission which will be discussed later while discussing breeding.