Unified Absolute Differential Cross Sections for Neutron Production by the Hydrogen Isotopes for Charged-Particle Energies Between 6 and 17 MeV

An absolute scale for the differential cross sections of the reactions ³H(p, n)³He, ²H(d, n)³He, and ³H(d, n)⁴He, measured for incident energies between 6 and 17 MeV, was established using a calibrated time-of-flight system. Accurate charged-particle reference cross sections were inter-compared so that a common scale with an uncertainty of ±1.5% was obtained. By interchanging the target and beam nuclei, data were obtained at 180 deg in the original system for several cases. The new data were analyzed together with the previous data, and Legendre coefficients were extracted to permit presentation of the data between ∼5 and 20 MeV, thus extending and partly revising previous evaluations. The typical shape error of the angular distributions, as given by the Legendre coefficients, is <3% over the entire angular range. In addition, data on the neutron production at zero degree by breakup are given for the p-T and d-D reactions. By correcting the previous counter telescope data for the ¹H(n, n)¹H cross sections (according to more recent phase-shift analyses), scale ambiguities of ∼3% were resolved, thus indirectly verifying these phase shifts up to neutron energies of ∼16 MeV. However, at higher energies (above ∼23 MeV) for ³H(d, n)⁴He data, the corrected neutron counter telescope data deviate from the present analysis by ∼5%. Whether or not this difference is caused by the ¹H(n, n)¹H reference cross section used is open to further investigations.