Advantages and limitations of nuclear physics experiments at an ISIS-class spallation neutron source

Nuclear physics experiments have a long history of being conducted on spallation neutron sources. Like other experiments, these measurements take advantage of the identification of the incident neutron energy by the time-of-flight (ToF) technique. However, in some ways these experiments are often in direct conflict with other experiments. Especially in large (ISIS or SNS class) facilities, the design of the source often reflects a compromise between different experimental needs and requirements. It has been a long standing question for nuclear physics experiments how limiting these compromises are and how they can be dealt with. We have therefore calculated the incident neutron energy spectrum, along with the gamma background spectrum, for flight path (FP) 5 at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (Lujan Center) including a detailed evaluation of the signal shape. We will discuss the advantages and limitations of the nuclear physics experiments at FP-5 in the light of our results. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.