Verification of Arms Control Treaties with Resonance Phenomena
Abstract
Nuclear disarmament treaties remain insufficient to neutralize the existential threat of the nuclear weapons. Technologies are necessary for verifying the authenticity of the nuclear warheads undergoing dismantlement before counting them toward a treaty partner’s obligation. Here we present a review of concepts involving isotope-specific resonance processes, Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) [1] and Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) [2, 3], used to authenticate a warhead’s fissile components by comparing them to a previously authenticated template. All information is encrypted in the physical domain by the addition of an encrypting filter to the target, leading to measurements with an outcome similar to an equation with two unknowns. Using Monte Carlo simulations and experiments we show that the measurements readily detect hoaxing attempt, while no vital isotopic or geometric information about the weapon is released. These nuclear techniques can be used to dramatically increase the reach and trustworthiness of future nuclear disarmament treaties.
- Authors:
-
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development (NA-22)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1616514
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0003920
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nuclear Physics News
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 30; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1061-9127
- Publisher:
- Taylor & Francis
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
Citation Formats
Danagoulian, Areg. Verification of Arms Control Treaties with Resonance Phenomena. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1080/10619127.2020.1717271.
Danagoulian, Areg. Verification of Arms Control Treaties with Resonance Phenomena. United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/10619127.2020.1717271
Danagoulian, Areg. Tue .
"Verification of Arms Control Treaties with Resonance Phenomena". United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/10619127.2020.1717271. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1616514.
@article{osti_1616514,
title = {Verification of Arms Control Treaties with Resonance Phenomena},
author = {Danagoulian, Areg},
abstractNote = {Nuclear disarmament treaties remain insufficient to neutralize the existential threat of the nuclear weapons. Technologies are necessary for verifying the authenticity of the nuclear warheads undergoing dismantlement before counting them toward a treaty partner’s obligation. Here we present a review of concepts involving isotope-specific resonance processes, Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) [1] and Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) [2, 3], used to authenticate a warhead’s fissile components by comparing them to a previously authenticated template. All information is encrypted in the physical domain by the addition of an encrypting filter to the target, leading to measurements with an outcome similar to an equation with two unknowns. Using Monte Carlo simulations and experiments we show that the measurements readily detect hoaxing attempt, while no vital isotopic or geometric information about the weapon is released. These nuclear techniques can be used to dramatically increase the reach and trustworthiness of future nuclear disarmament treaties.},
doi = {10.1080/10619127.2020.1717271},
journal = {Nuclear Physics News},
number = 1,
volume = 30,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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