Measurement of the relative differential cross sections of the $$^{1} H(n,el)$$ reaction in the neutron energy range from 6 MeV to 52 MeV

The relative differential cross sections of the $$^{1}\hbox {H}(n, \,el)$$ reaction have been measured at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) Back-n white neutron source. A low-density polyethylene sample and a graphite foil were prepared for the foreground and background measurements, respectively. The charged particles were detected using the $${\vartriangle }E-E$$ telescope array of the Light-charged Particle Detector Array (LPDA) system. With 10 $${\vartriangle }E-E$$ telescopes, the relative differential cross sections of the $$^{1}\hbox {H}(n, \,el)$$ reaction were obtained from 70 $$^{\circ }$$ to 160 $$^{\circ }$$ in the center-of-mass system in the neutron energy ( $$E_{\mathrm{n}}$$ ) range from 6.14 to 52.48 MeV (23 energy points). The present work was the first experiment using the $${\vartriangle }E-E$$ telescope array of the LPDA system at CSNS. The present results are in good agreement with previous measurements, evaluations and theoretical calculations. Furthermore, this work is the first measurement in the 6.52 MeV $$\le E_{\mathrm{n}} \le $$ 9.09 MeV, 10.57 MeV $$\le E_{\mathrm{n}} \le $$ 12.43 MeV, and 18.05 MeV $$\le $$ $$E_{\mathrm{n}} \le $$ 20.05 MeV regions.