Distinguishing spontaneous fission neutrons from cosmic-ray background

We have measured the neutron spectra of cosmic-rays and a spontaneous fission emitting source (Cf-252) using a neutron double scatter spectrometer. The energy range of measurements was 0.1-10 MeV where the spectrometer efficiency is determined to be up to 8.7%, depending on the separation between detection planes. Our cosmic-ray neutron spectrum measurement is in good agreement with the sea-level data reported by Goldhagen and his co-workers. In the energy range 0.1-1.0 MeV, the cosmic-ray and Cf-252 spectra are different and separable. This difference is expected from the applicable models that describe the phenomena, 'equilibrium slowing down' (cosmic-rays) and 'Maxwellian kinetic temperature' emission (spontaneous fission). We show that >80% of Cf-252 neutrons and <25% of cosmic-ray related neutrons are emitted in this energy range of measurement, and conclude that neutron spectroscopy provides effective ways to distinguish a fission source from the cosmic-ray background.