A method of synthetic kernel approximation is examined in some detail with a view to simplifying the treatment of the elastic moderation of fast neutrons. A sequence of unified kernel {
fN} is introduced, which is then divided into two subsequences {
Wn} and {
Gn} according to whether
N is odd (
Wn=
f2n-1,
n=1, 2, …) or even (
Gn=
f2n,
n=0, 1…). The
W1 and
G1 kernels correspond to the usual Wigner and GG kernels, respectively, and the
Wn and
Gn kernels for
n ?? 2 represent generalizations thereof. It is shown that the
Wn kernel solution with a relatively small
n( ?? 2) is superior on the whole to the
Gn kernel solution for the same index
n, while both converge to the exact values with increasing
n. To evaluate the collision density numerically and rapidly, a simple recurrence formula is derived. In the asymptotic region (except near resonances), this recurrence formula allows calculation with a relatively coarse mesh width whenever
ha ?? 0.05 at least. For calculations in the transient lethargy region, a mesh width of order
ε/10 is small enough to evaluate the approximate collision density
ψN with an accuracy comparable to that obtained analytically. It is shown that, with the present method, an order of approximation of about
n=7 should yield a practically correct solution diviating not more than 1% in collision density.
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