Neutron yields for reactions induced by 120 GeV protons on thick copper target

We developed an experimental method to measure neutron energy spectrum for 120-GeV protons on a thick copper target at Fermilab Test Beam Facility (FTBF). The spectrum in the energy range from 16 to 1600 MeV was obtained for 60-cm long copper target by time-of-flight technique with an NE213 scintillator and 5.5-m flight path. Energy spectra of neutrons generated from an interaction with beam and materials are important to design shielding structure of high energy accelerators. Until now, the energy spectra for the incident energy up to 3 GeV have been measured by several groups, Ishibashi et al., Amian et al., and Leray et al. In the energy region above 3 GeV, few experimental data are available because of small number of facilities for neutron experiment. On the other hand, concerning simulation codes, theoretical models for particle generation and transportation are switched from intermediate to high energy one around this energy. The spectra calculated by the codes have not been examined using experimental data. In shielding experiments using 120 GeV hadron beam, experimental data shows systematic differences from calculations. Hagiwara et al. have measured leakage neutron spectra behind iron and concrete shield from 120 GeV proton on target at anti-proton target station in Fermilab by using Bonner Spheres with unfolding technique. In CERN, Nakao et al reported experimental results of neutron spectra behind iron and concrete wall from 120 GeV/c proton and pion mixed beam on copper by using NE213 liquid scintillators with unfolding technique. Both of the results reported systematic discrepancies between experimental and calculation results. Therefore, experimental data are highly required to verify neutron production part of calculations. In this study, we developed an experimental method to measure neutron energy spectrum for 120 GeV proton on target. The neutron energy was determined using time-of-flight technique. We used the Fermilab Test Beam Facility (FTBF) in Fermilab that provided 120 GeV proton beam with intensity of 2 x 10{sup 5}/4 sec in every minute. The point of this study was determination of experimental configuration to satisfy enough statistic and energy resolution of neutrons.