The FN solution of the time-dependent neutron transport equation for a sphere with forward scattering

Abstract

Abstract The one-speed time-dependent and stationary neutron transport equation in spherical geometry with forward scattering is considered. A formal equivalence between the transport equations for a critical and for a decaying system is established. By considering the pseudo-slab problem the scaled transport equation is solved using the FN method. Numerical values of radii for a critical and time-dependent systems are tabulated as a function of the scattering parameters and the fundamental decay constant. Some of the results are discussed and compared with others obtained using various methods. The results agree for four or five significant figures with the published results. It is shown that the FN method yields good numerical results for the problem considered. Finally, a few remarks about the effect of the forward anisotropy on the radius is also given.