The Total Absorption Spectroscopy technique for reactor technology and basic nuclear physics

Understanding the β-decay properties of fission products is very important for nuclear reactor monitoring & safety. Indeed, the β-decay of fission products is a source of power during nuclear reactor operation and after, this activity is the main contributor to the decay-heat representing ∼7–8% of a reactor nominal power. β-decay is also at the origin of the antineutrinos coming from nuclear reactor. The study of antineutrinos is mandatory for nuclear safeguard policies based on antineutrino detection. But there are still some discrepancies in the calculation of the decay-heat and antineutrino spectra. One reason of the distortions observed seems to be linked to the Pandemonium effect. In order to improve the accuracy in the prediction of these quantities, new measurements of fission products β-decay properties, not sensitive to this effect, have been performed with a Total Absorption spectrometer (TAS). An overview of the TAS technique and first results from the latest experiment will be presented.