Neutron capture

Neutron capture is a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus absorbs a neutron. The resulting nucleus may emit gamma radiation or undergo radioactive decay.

Radiative capture: A nuclear reaction in which a nucleus absorbs a particle and emits a photon. The common capture pathway releases the neutron’s binding energy as a gamma ray.
Neutron activation analysis: An analytical technique that identifies elements by measuring radiation from neutron-irradiated samples. Element-specific capture products reveal the composition of irradiated materials.
Neutron: An electrically neutral subatomic particle found in atomic nuclei. It is the incident particle absorbed in the reaction.
Neutron scattering: A collision in which a neutron changes direction after interacting with a nucleus. Unlike capture, scattering leaves the neutron unabsorbed.
Neutron capture cross section: A measure of the probability that a nucleus will capture an incident neutron. It quantifies how readily a target nucleus captures neutrons at a given energy.
Neutron capture therapy: A cancer treatment that uses neutron capture in tumor-localized nuclei to produce damaging particles. Boron capture can release short-range particles inside cells containing the targeted isotope.
Atomic nucleus: The dense central part of an atom, composed of protons and neutrons. It is the target whose proton and neutron counts change through capture.
Neutron-induced fission: The splitting of a nucleus after it absorbs or interacts with an incident neutron. This competing outcome breaks a heavy nucleus rather than simply adding a neutron.
Neutron resonance: A sharp increase in a nucleus’s neutron-reaction probability at particular neutron energies. Resonances can strongly raise capture probabilities at specific neutron energies.
Nuclear reactor: A device that sustains a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction. Capture in fuel, coolant, and control materials shapes a reactor’s neutron balance.

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