Calculation of the cross and auto power spectral densities for low neutron counting from pulse mode detectors

This study presents a novel methodology to calculate the prompt neutron decay constant of a subcritical assembly from the cross and auto power spectral densities of detectors operating in pulse mode when the neutron counting is low. The pulse operation mode allows the easy discrimination of the gamma contribution to the detector signal by the pulse height or shape techniques. The methodology is based on a MATLAB script that allows to change arbitrary parameters at any time after the experiment is performed. This approach requires list mode data and is much more flexible than programming the digital acquisition system because in the latter case the arbitrary parameters are set prior to the experiment and cannot be changed any longer after the experiment is performed. The MATLAB script processes all the detectors timestamps from several thousand pulses of the particle accelerator and redistributes them into a time interval that spreads over only 10 particle accelerator pulses. This pulses collapsing procedure has been performed because of the low neutron counting.