Neutron yield and energy spectrum of 13C(alpha,n)16O reaction in liquid scintillator of KamLAND: A Nedis-2m simulation

The 13C (α,n)16O reaction cross-section is important data for nuclear physics, astrophysical, and neutrino physics experiments, however, they exhibit uncertainties due to the discrepancies in the experimental data. In this study, using the Nedis-2m program code, the energy spectrum of α-induced neutrons in a thin carbon target was calculated and the corresponding reaction cross-section was refined in the alpha particle energy range of 5–8 MeV. The results were used to calculate the intensity and energy spectrum of background neutrons produced in the liquid scintillator of KamLAND. The results will be useful in a variety of astrophysical and neutrino experiments especially those based on LS or Gd-LS detectors