Number of elastic scatterings on free stationary nuclei to slow down a neutron

We report the formulation of the number of elastic scatterings required to slow down a neutron. By establishing its analytical expression, we show that this number displays a discontinuity and an oscillatory transient that progressively dampens when the neutron energy decreases. This result does not apply to neutrons with energies lower than a few eV, as we restrict our study to scatterings on free stationary nuclei.