Joint IAEA–Consultative Committee for Ionizing Radiation Workshop on Neutron Beams at High Energy: Applications and Metrology

High energy neutrons are of high relevance in many fields, as they are produced both naturally by galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events interacting with matter such as in spacecraft or the atmosphere, and also in and around man-made high energy accelerator facilities (for therapy and research). The neutron energy spectra in both cases show similar features: lower energy neutrons peaking around 1 MeV as evaporation products; and high energy neutrons peaking around 100 MeV originating as knock-on neutrons in peripheral collisions or in charge exchange reactions. Solar flares can produce neutrons with energies ranging up to several GeV.

Any reliable measurement of such fields requires instrumentation which has traceability to internationally recognised reference standards. There are quite a number of facilities worldwide suitable for fast neutron metrology and applications up to around 20 MeV, with well-established reference standards and procedures for metrology and dosimetry. Above 20 MeV only a few facilities exist, and metrology is more challenging as a consequence of both fundamental physics and technological complexity. Nevertheless, there is growing interest and expressed needs for high energy neutron metrology exceeding 100 MeV. This topic will be addressed during this meeting.

For more information, please visit https://conferences.iaea.org/event/410/