Modeling the Fission Fragment Detection Efficiency of the NIFFTE fissionTPC

The goal of the Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE) is to measure neutron-induced fission cross section ratios with unprecedented precision. The NIFFTE Collaboration has designed and built a Time Projection Chamber, the fissionTPC, for this purpose. The detector enables charged particle tracking with full three-dimensional charge cloud reconstruction, allowing for the characterization of fission fragments originating from a thin central target. Quantifying the fission fragment detection efficiency is a central element of these cross section ratio measurements. Here we describe how the wealth of data captured for every fission event allows us to build and validate a detailed Monte Carlo efficiency model. Effects such as anisotropy, fission fragment energy degradation, and target thickness, composition, and roughness must all be taken into account.