Experiment to find the neutron clusters in the decay of 238U nuclei

The first experiment was carried out, the task of which is the direct detection of neutron nuclei (number of bound neutrons ≥6) with a multineutron detector. The experimental results indicate that in the cluster decay of 238U there is a hexaneutrons and (or) octaneutrons. Multineutron detector made of 20 3He counters located in the moderator of polyethylene. The samples (emitters) from uranium trioxide (UO3) were the sources of neutron nuclei. The duration of the experiment was 112.66 days. For the probability of hexaneutrons and (or) octaneutrons emission of nuclei 238U with respect to the probability of α-decay mode are determined. The upper limits on the 90% confidence level are the following: λ(6n)/λα≤9.3×10−9and (or) λ(8n)/λα≤3.6×10−10.