Speaker
Description
Understanding background radiation is essential for precision studies in any facility. This work investigates background contributions observed during radiative capture measurements at the low-energy nuclear astrophysics beam-line (H-line) of the iThemba LABS Tandetron facility. The H-line is dedicated to studying the statistical properties of proton-rich isotopes via proton or alpha induced reactions, providing key observable such as photon strength functions and level densities which are critical inputs for nucleosynthesis reaction calculations.
To achieve high-precision measurements, experiments utilize a high-resolution gamma-ray detection system comprising High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) and Cerium-doped Lanthanum Bromide (LaBr₃:Ce) detectors, along with the 3 MV Tandetron accelerator. This study presents the experimental setup, including beam diagnostics, detector configurations, and data acquisition systems. A key challenge in these measurements is distinguishing true reaction signals from background contributions, which may arise from beam interactions with beam-line elements or contaminants on the target.
Findings indicate that sub-optimal beam tuning can result in unintended interactions with beam-line components, while beam spreading after the target leads to further interactions. This comprehensive background characterization allows for refinements in experimental methodology, ensuring improved accuracy in PSF studies.
