Measurement of the thermal neutron capture cross section of (180)W

Abstract

We measured the thermal neutron capture cross section for the (180)W nucleus. There is only one previous measurement with regard to this cross section, and it yielded a value of 30(-100%)(+300%) b. To determine whether (181)W is an appropriate low energy neutrino source, the thermal neutron capture cross section should be measured more precisely to estimate the production rate of (181)W inside a nuclear reactor. We measured the cross section of (180)W using a natural tungsten foil and obtained a value of 22.6 +/- 1.7 b.