Abstract
A well-established knowledge of nuclear phenomena including fission, reaction cross sections, and structure/decay properties is critical for applications ranging from the design of new reactors to nonproliferation to the production of radioisotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of illness. However, the lack of a well-quantified, predictive theoretical capability means that most nuclear observables must be measured directly and used to calibrate empirical models, which in turn provide the data needed for these applications. In many cases, either there is a lack of data needed to guide the models or the results of the different measurements are discrepant, leading to the development of evaluation methodologies to provide recommended values and uncertainties. In this review, we describe the nuclear data evaluation process and the international community that carries it out. We then discuss new measurements and improved theory and/or modeling needed to address future challenges in applied nuclear science.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 109-136 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science |
| Volume | 69 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2019 |
Funding
This review was written by staff from several laboratories working under the auspices of the US DOE at LBNL under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, ORNL under contract DE-AC0500OR22725, LLNL under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, and BNL under contract DE-AC02-98CH10886. A portion of this work used the Savio computational cluster resource provided by the Berkeley Research Computing program at UC Berkeley (supported by the UC Berkeley Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Research, and Chief Information Officer). For the IAEA, the writing of this review was supported by Major Programme 1 on nuclear power, fuel cycle, and nuclear science. Lastly, we thank Frank “Ted” Barnes, Timothy Hallman, and Donald Hornback for driving the establishment of the NDIAWG, which is helping to promote awareness of the importance of nuclear data for applications and leading the effort to develop a national nuclear data plan in the United States. This review was written by staff from several laboratories working under the auspices of the US DOE at LBNL under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, ORNL under contract DEAC0500OR22725, LLNL under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, and BNL under contract DEAC02- 98CH10886.A portion of this work used the Savio computational cluster resource provided by the Berkeley Research Computing program at UC Berkeley (supported by the UC Berkeley Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Research, and Chief Information Officer). For the IAEA, the writing of this review was supported by Major Programme 1 on nuclear power, fuel cycle, and nuclear science. Lastly, we thank Frank Ted Barnes, Timothy Hallman, and Donald Hornback for driving the establishment of the NDIAWG, which is helping to promote awareness of the importance of nuclear data for applications and leading the effort to develop a national nuclear data plan in the United States.
Keywords
- evaluation
- fission
- inelastic scattering
- level density
- medical isotopes
- nonproliferation
- nuclear data
- nuclear energy
- radiative strength
- reactor antineutrinos
- structure, reactions
- β decay