Monte Carlo Simulation of the Charged Particle Energy Spectrum Produced by the Li(d,x)y Reaction at 1.5 MeV Bombarding Energy

There are many exit channels for the natural lithium-deuteron nuclear reaction; several are limited by Q values at low bombarding energies, but many have large positive Q values, easily producing light particles such as protons, deuterons, tritons, and alphas over a broad energy range. The kinematics for each reaction dictates the energy of the particles at a specified detection angle for 2-body final states (2BFS), thus allowing for the identification of the reaction's ejectile in the detector energy spectrum. However, if two reactions produce the same particle at the same energy and angle, then the deconvolution of the peak can be difficult. In addition, the production of 3-body final states (3BFS) produces a broad energy peak, often coinciding with other narrow 2BFS energy peaks. Using the Monte Carlo programs TRIM and SIMNRA, a predicted energy spectrum of a Li(d,x)y reaction was simulated for a 1.5 MeV deuteron beam on natural Lithium at 150 degrees in the laboratory reference frame. The results of this calculation were then compared to the measured spectrum produced at the SUNY Geneseo Pelletron Accelerator Laboratory and used to determine the reaction rate of the 7Li(d,p)8Li reaction.