Exclusion and Verification of Remote Nuclear Reactors with a 1-kiloton Gd -Doped Water Detector
Abstract
To date, antineutrino experiments built for the purpose of demonstrating a nonproliferation capability have typically employed organic scintillators situated as close to the core as possible (typically at a distance of a few meters to tens of meters) and have not exceeded a few tons in size. One problem with this approach is that proximity to the reactor core requires accommodation by the host facility. Water Cherenkov detectors located offsite, at distances of a few kilometers or greater, may facilitate nonintrusive monitoring and verification of reactor activities over a large area. As the standoff distance increases, the detector target mass must scale accordingly. This paper quantifies the degree to which a kiloton-scale gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector can exclude the existence of undeclared reactors within a specified distance, and remotely detect the presence of a hidden reactor in the presence of declared reactors, by verifying the operational power and standoff distance using a Feldman-Cousins-based likelihood analysis. A 1-kton scale (fiducial) water Cherenkov detector can exclude gigawatt-scale nuclear reactors up to tens of kilometers within a year. In conclusion, when attempting to identify the specific range and power of a reactor, the detector energy resolution is not sufficient to delineate between themore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
[1];
[1]
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 2203320
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1963962
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-814121
Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019; 1022363
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344; NA0000979; NA0003920
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Applied
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 19; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 42 ENGINEERING; 73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; Nuclear reactors; Optoelectronics; Lanthanides; Neutrinos; Photodetectors; Cherenkov detectors; Neutrino detection; Particles & Fields; Nuclear Physics; Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics; Energy Science & Technology
Citation Formats
Akindele, O. A., Bernstein, A., Bergevin, M., Dazeley, S. A., Sutanto, F., Mullen, A., and Hecla, J. Exclusion and Verification of Remote Nuclear Reactors with a 1-kiloton Gd -Doped Water Detector. United States: N. p., 2023.
Web. doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.19.034060.
Akindele, O. A., Bernstein, A., Bergevin, M., Dazeley, S. A., Sutanto, F., Mullen, A., & Hecla, J. Exclusion and Verification of Remote Nuclear Reactors with a 1-kiloton Gd -Doped Water Detector. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.19.034060
Akindele, O. A., Bernstein, A., Bergevin, M., Dazeley, S. A., Sutanto, F., Mullen, A., and Hecla, J. Mon .
"Exclusion and Verification of Remote Nuclear Reactors with a 1-kiloton Gd -Doped Water Detector". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.19.034060. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2203320.
@article{osti_2203320,
title = {Exclusion and Verification of Remote Nuclear Reactors with a 1-kiloton Gd -Doped Water Detector},
author = {Akindele, O. A. and Bernstein, A. and Bergevin, M. and Dazeley, S. A. and Sutanto, F. and Mullen, A. and Hecla, J.},
abstractNote = {To date, antineutrino experiments built for the purpose of demonstrating a nonproliferation capability have typically employed organic scintillators situated as close to the core as possible (typically at a distance of a few meters to tens of meters) and have not exceeded a few tons in size. One problem with this approach is that proximity to the reactor core requires accommodation by the host facility. Water Cherenkov detectors located offsite, at distances of a few kilometers or greater, may facilitate nonintrusive monitoring and verification of reactor activities over a large area. As the standoff distance increases, the detector target mass must scale accordingly. This paper quantifies the degree to which a kiloton-scale gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector can exclude the existence of undeclared reactors within a specified distance, and remotely detect the presence of a hidden reactor in the presence of declared reactors, by verifying the operational power and standoff distance using a Feldman-Cousins-based likelihood analysis. A 1-kton scale (fiducial) water Cherenkov detector can exclude gigawatt-scale nuclear reactors up to tens of kilometers within a year. In conclusion, when attempting to identify the specific range and power of a reactor, the detector energy resolution is not sufficient to delineate between the two.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevapplied.19.034060},
journal = {Physical Review Applied},
number = 3,
volume = 19,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 20 00:00:00 EDT 2023},
month = {Mon Mar 20 00:00:00 EDT 2023}
}
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