Sample neutron irradiation with the Min Jiang Testing Reactor (MJTR): implications for high-precision 40Ar/39Ar dating

The Min Jiang Testing Reactor (MJTR) is a new irradiation facility for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. In this study, we systematically evaluated the neutron flux field gradients of the MJTR for irradiation of samples for 40Ar/39Ar dating and yielded an average neutron flux equivalence of 0.21 × 10−4J h−1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of analytical atomic spectrometry 2023-08, Vol.38 (8), p.1540-1548
Main Authors: Wan-Feng, Zhang, Jun-Jie, Li, De-Wen, Zheng, Shou-Hua, Sun, Yu-Fei, Guo, Zhang, Jia, Xiao, Ming, Jun-Jie, Wang, Yu-Lian, Zhang, Ying-De, Jiang, Yi-Gang, Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Geochronology
Intercalibration
Neutron flux
Neutron irradiation
Neutrons
Nuclear reactors
Radiometric dating
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Summary:The Min Jiang Testing Reactor (MJTR) is a new irradiation facility for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. In this study, we systematically evaluated the neutron flux field gradients of the MJTR for irradiation of samples for 40Ar/39Ar dating and yielded an average neutron flux equivalence of 0.21 × 10−4J h−1 over the neutron irradiation process. The vertical and the horizontal gradients are down to 0.68% cm−1 and 0.45% cm−1, respectively, indicating a sufficiently wide neutron flux stabilization field for 40Ar/39Ar sample irradiation. The production rate ratios of interfering reactions are (36Ar/37Ar)Ca: 4.17 ± 0.07 × 10−4, (39Ar/37Ar)Ca: 18.4 ± 3.6 × 10−4, and (40Ar/39Ar)K: 146.5 ± 42.4 × 10−4, within the range of other nuclear reactors worldwide. The J value error can be estimated to be
ISSN:0267-9477
1364-5544
DOI:10.1039/d3ja00048f