The Daya Bay experiment has observed correlations between reactor core fuel
evolution and changes in the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum.
Four antineutrino detectors in two experimental halls were used to identify 2.2
million inverse beta decays (IBDs) over 1230 days spanning multiple fuel cycles
for each of six 2.9 GW$_{\textrm{th}}$ reactor cores at the Daya Bay and Ling
Ao nuclear power plants. Using detector data spanning effective $^{239}$Pu
fission fractions, $F_{239}$, from 0.25 to 0.35, Daya Bay measures an average
IBD yield, $\bar{\sigma}_f$, of $(5.90 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-43}$
cm$^2$/fission and a fuel-dependent variation in the IBD yield,
$d\sigma_f/dF_{239}$, of $(-1.86 \pm 0.18) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission.
This observation rejects the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino flux as a
function of the $^{239}$Pu fission fraction at 10 standard deviations. The
variation in IBD yield was found to be energy-dependent, rejecting the
hypothesis of a constant antineutrino energy spectrum at 5.1 standard
deviations. While measurements of the evolution in the IBD spectrum show
general agreement with predictions from recent reactor models, the measured
evolution in total IBD yield disagrees with recent predictions at 3.1$\sigma$.
This discrepancy indicates that an overall deficit in measured flux with
respect to predictions does not result from equal fractional deficits from the
primary fission isotopes $^{235}$U, $^{239}$Pu, $^{238}$U, and $^{241}$Pu.
Based on measured IBD yield variations, yields of $(6.17 \pm 0.17)$ and $(4.27
\pm 0.26) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission have been determined for the two
dominant fission parent isotopes $^{235}$U and $^{239}$Pu. A 7.8% discrepancy
between the observed and predicted $^{235}$U yield suggests that this isotope
may be the primary contributor to the reactor antineutrino anomaly.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
The prediction of reactor antineutrino spectra will play a crucial role as reactor experiments enter the precision era. The positron energy spectrum of 3.5 million antineutrino inverse beta decay reactions observed by the
The antineutrino flux from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is an important source of uncertainty when making estimates of a reactor neutrino flux. However, to determine the contribution from SNF, sufficient data is needed such as the amount of spent fuel in the pool, the time after discharged from the reactor core, the burnup of each assembly, and the antineutrino spectrum of each isotope in the SNF. A method to calculate this contribution is proposed. A reactor simulation code verified against experimental data has been used to simulate fuel depletion by taking into account more than 2000 isotopes and fission products, the quantity of SNF in each of the six spent fuel pools, and the time variation of the antineutrino spectra after SNF discharging from the core. Results show that the SNF contribution to the total antineutrino flux is about 0.26%-0.34%, and the shutdown impact is about 20%. The SNF spectrum alters the softer part of the antineutrino spectra, and the maximum contribution from the SNF is about 3.0%. Nevertheless, there is an 18% difference between the line evaluate method and under evaluate method. In addition, non-equilibrium effects are also discussed, and the results are compatible considering the uncertainties.
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