Determination of the gamma-ray background in a pulsed epithermal neutron beam

The γ-ray background in the pulsed neutron beam at the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center was measured with an array of 10B-loaded liquid scintillators. With the method employed the γ-ray contribution in the neutron beam can be determined without knowledge of the energy spectrum of the γ-rays. The ratio of γ-ray to neutron intensities in the beam was determined during the time interval following the beam burst that corresponds to neutron energies from En = 1 to 340 eV. The γ-ray content in the beam ranges from 2% at 1 eV to 10% at 340 eV.