A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances
Abstract
Arms control treaties are necessary to reduce the large stockpiles of the nuclear weapons that constitute one of the biggest dangers to the world. However, an impactful treaty hinges on effective inspection exercises to verify the participants’ compliance to the treaty terms. Such procedures would require verification of the authenticity of a warhead undergoing dismantlement. Previously proposed solutions lacked the combination of isotopic sensitivity and information security. Here we present the experimental feasibility proof of a technique that uses neutron induced nuclear resonances and is sensitive to the combination of isotopics and geometry. The information is physically encrypted to prevent the leakage of sensitive information. Our approach can significantly increase the trustworthiness of future arms control treaties while expanding their scope to include the verified dismantlement of nuclear warheads themselves.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1619721
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1614532; OSTI ID: 1798658
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0002534
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Volume: 10 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; Science & technology - other topics; Characterization and analytical techniques; Experimental nuclear physics
Citation Formats
Engel, Ezra M., and Danagoulian, Areg. A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances. United Kingdom: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0.
Engel, Ezra M., & Danagoulian, Areg. A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0
Engel, Ezra M., and Danagoulian, Areg. Mon .
"A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0.
@article{osti_1619721,
title = {A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances},
author = {Engel, Ezra M. and Danagoulian, Areg},
abstractNote = {Arms control treaties are necessary to reduce the large stockpiles of the nuclear weapons that constitute one of the biggest dangers to the world. However, an impactful treaty hinges on effective inspection exercises to verify the participants’ compliance to the treaty terms. Such procedures would require verification of the authenticity of a warhead undergoing dismantlement. Previously proposed solutions lacked the combination of isotopic sensitivity and information security. Here we present the experimental feasibility proof of a technique that uses neutron induced nuclear resonances and is sensitive to the combination of isotopics and geometry. The information is physically encrypted to prevent the leakage of sensitive information. Our approach can significantly increase the trustworthiness of future arms control treaties while expanding their scope to include the verified dismantlement of nuclear warheads themselves.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 10,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {2019},
month = {9}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 5 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Physical cryptographic verification of nuclear warheads
journal, July 2016
- Kemp, R. Scott; Danagoulian, Areg; Macdonald, Ruaridh R.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113, Issue 31
Recent developments in Geant4
journal, November 2016
- Allison, J.; Amako, K.; Apostolakis, J.
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 835
New Standard Evaluated Neutron Cross Section Libraries for the GEANT4 Code and First Verification
journal, August 2014
- Mendoza, Emilio; Cano-Ott, Daniel; Koi, Tatsumi
- IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 61, Issue 4
A zero-knowledge protocol for nuclear warhead verification
journal, June 2014
- Glaser, Alexander; Barak, Boaz; Goldston, Robert J.
- Nature, Vol. 510, Issue 7506
A physical zero-knowledge object-comparison system for nuclear warhead verification
journal, September 2016
- Philippe, Sébastien; Goldston, Robert J.; Glaser, Alexander
- Nature Communications, Vol. 7, Issue 1
Design and construction of a thermal neutron target for the RPI linac
journal, January 1995
- Danon, Y.; Block, R. C.; Slovacek, R. E.
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 352, Issue 3
Neutron Total Cross-Section Measurements and Resonance Parameter Analysis of Holmium, Thulium, and Erbium from 0.001 to 20 eV
journal, January 1998
- Danon, Y.; Werner, C. J.; Youk, G.
- Nuclear Science and Engineering, Vol. 128, Issue 1
Nuclear Warhead Verification: A Review of Attribute and Template Systems
journal, September 2015
- Yan, Jie; Glaser, Alexander
- Science & Global Security, Vol. 23, Issue 3
Bright Laser-Driven Neutron Source Based on the Relativistic Transparency of Solids
journal, January 2013
- Roth, M.; Jung, D.; Falk, K.
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 110, Issue 4
Geant4—a simulation toolkit
journal, July 2003
- Agostinelli, S.; Allison, J.; Amako, K.
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 506, Issue 3
Gamma-Ray Measurements of a Soviet Cruise-Missile Warhead
journal, May 1990
- Fetter, S.; Cochran, T. B.; Grodzins, L.
- Science, Vol. 248, Issue 4957
Experimental demonstration of an isotope-sensitive warhead verification technique using nuclear resonance fluorescence
journal, April 2018
- Vavrek, Jayson R.; Henderson, Brian S.; Danagoulian, Areg
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115, Issue 17
A single-pixel X-ray imager concept and its application to secure radiographic inspections
journal, July 2017
- Gilbert, Andrew J.; Miller, Brian W.; Robinson, Sean M.
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 861
Laser-plasmas in the relativistic-transparency regime: Science and applications
journal, May 2017
- Fernández, Juan C.; Cort Gautier, D.; Huang, Chengkung
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 24, Issue 5
Supporting Technology for Chain of Custody of Nuclear Weapons and Materials Throughout the Dismantlement and Disposition Processes
journal, May 2014
- Bunch, Kyle J.; Jones, Mark; Ramuhalli, Pradeep
- Science & Global Security, Vol. 22, Issue 2
Nuclear disarmament verification via resonant phenomena
journal, March 2018
- Hecla, Jake J.; Danagoulian, Areg
- Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1
United States nuclear forces, 2018
journal, February 2018
- Kristensen, Hans M.; Norris, Robert S.
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 74, Issue 2
Russian nuclear forces, 2019
journal, February 2019
- Kristensen, Hans M.; Korda, Matt
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 75, Issue 2