Methodology for the neutron time of flight measurement of 120-GeV proton-induced reactions on a thick copper target

A methodology for the time-of-flight measurement of the neutron energy spectrum for a high-energy proton-beam-induced reaction was established at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The 120-GeV proton beam with 3 × 105 protons/spill was prepared for event-by-event counting of incident protons and emitted neutrons for time-of-flight energy determination. An NE213 organic liquid scintillator (12.7 cm in diameter by 12.7 cm in length) was employed with a veto plastic scintillator and a pulse-shape discrimination technique to identify neutrons. Raw waveforms of NE213, veto and beam detectors were recorded to discriminate the effects of multi-proton beam events by considering different time windows. The neutron energy spectrum ranging from 10 to 800 MeV was obtained for a 60-cm-long copper target at 90° with respect to the beam axis. The obtained spectrum was consistent with that deduced employing the conventional unfolding technique as well as that obtained in a 40-GeV/c thin-target experiment.