Measurement of thick target neutron yield from 80.5 MeV/u 12C incidence on Be, C, W, and Pb targets

Thick target neutron yield produced from 80.5 MeV/u 12C ions stopping in the thick Be, C, W, and Pb targets were measured at 0°, 37°, 60° using liquid scintillation detector and the time of flight method. The experimental data were compared with those calculations using the Liege IntraNuclear-Cascade (INCL) implemented in Geant4 and the JAERI Quantum Molecular Dynamics 2.0 (JQMD-2.0) model followed by the Generalized Evaporation Model (GEM) implemented in PHITS, and default model implemented in FLUKA. The results of the three simulation codes with different physics models are similar for beryllium and carbon targets and in good agreement with the experimental data. For tungsten and lead targets, the calculation results from PHITS and FLUKA successfully reproduced the neutron spectra. While the results from GEANT4 overestimate the experimental data above 50 MeV at 0° and significantly underestimated experimental data in the 15–60 MeV energy range at 0°, 37° and 60°. In general, the simulation results of PHITS with the JQMD-2.0 physical model are in good agreement with the experimental data for all targets.