Isotopically pure
233U samples, with only 3×10
-3ppm
232U content, were prepared by thermal neutron irradiation of thoria and subsequent chemical processing. The
233U sample thus obtained was reirradiated with a fission neutron spectrum in the core of the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR), and measurements were made of the fission spectrum average cross section for the
233U(
n, 2
n)
232U reaction. A value of 4.08±0.30mb was obtained for this cross section, in agreement with the renormalized value of Halperin
et al. within the limits of experimental error.
In order to assess the energy dependent cross section from the value of this integral measurement, the
233U(
n, 2
n) cross section was calculated assuming a Maxwellian-type fission spectrum and adopting the energy dependent evaluated cross sections of ENDF/B-III and other authors. The values of the cross section thus determined were found to be about 32 to 91% larger than the measured cross section given above. The result of Pearlstein's calculation of the
233U(
n, 2
n) cross section by the statistical model, again assuming the Maxwellian distribution, is smaller than the measured cross section by about 19%.
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