Total Absorption Spectroscopy of Fission Fragments Relevant for Reactor Antineutrino Spectra and Decay Heat Calculations

Abstract

Beta decay of fission products is at the origin of decay heat and antineutrino emission in nuclear reactors. Decay heat represents about 7% of the reactor power during operation and strongly impacts reactor safety. Reactor antineutrino detection is used in several fundamental neutrino physics experiments and it can also be used for reactor monitoring and non-proliferation purposes. ^92,93Rb are two fission products of importance in reactor antineutrino spectra and decay heat, but their β-decay properties are not well known. New measurements of ^92,93Rb β-decay properties have been performed at the IGISOL facility (Jyväskylä, Finland) using Total Absorption Spectroscopy (TAS). TAS is complementary to techniques based on Germanium detectors. It implies the use of a calorimeter to measure the total gamma intensity de-exciting each level in the daughter nucleus providing a direct measurement of the beta feeding. In these proceedings we present preliminary results for ⁹³Rb, our measured beta feedings for ⁹²Rb and we show the impact of these results on reactor antineutrino spectra and decay heat calculations.