Stationary setup for identifying explosives using the tagged neutron method

The results of using a stationary setup for detecting and identifying explosives using the tagged neutron method (or associated particle imaging (API) method) have been presented. The source of 14.1-MeV tagged neutron beams is an ING-27 portable neutron generator made by VNIIA (Moscow). It contains an embedded 64-pixel silicon α detector with double-sided strip readout developed by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR). The setup was tested for the identification of more than 30 explosives.     

Use of the tagged neutron technique for detecting dangerous underwater substances

The tagged neutron technique (TNT) is analyzed in terms of its application for detecting dangerous substances hidden in underwater objects. The use of the technique for solving these problems is justified theoretically. The main characteristics of a prototype detector aimed at detecting explosives in a water environment are determined.     

Multidetector system for nanosecond tagged neutron technology based on hardware selection of events

At the T(d, n)He⁴ reaction a neutron is accompanied by an associated alpha-particle emitted in the opposite direction. A time and a direction of the neutron escape can be determined by measuring a time and coordinates of the alpha particle at the position-sensitive alpha-detector. The nanosecond tagged neutron technology (NTNT) based on this principle has great potentialities for various applications, e.g., for remote detection of explosives. A spectrum of gamma-rays emitted at the interaction of tagged neutrons with nuclei of chemical elements allows identify a chemical composition of an irradiated object. For practical realization of NTNT, a time resolution of recording the alpha-gamma coincidences should be close to 1 ns. The total intensity of signals can exceed 1 × 10⁶ 1/s from all gamma-detectors and 7 × 10⁶ 1/s from the alpha-detector. The processing of such stream of data without losses and distortion of information is one of challenging problems of NTNT. Several models of analog DAQ system based on hardware selection of events were devised and their characteristics are examined. The comparison with the digital DAQ systems demonstrated that the analog DAQ provides better timing parameters, lower power consumption, and higher maximum rate of useful events.     

Multiple small-angle neutron scattering for an arbitrary value of the born parameter

Computer calculations are made of the intensity of multiple small-angle neutron scattering using the general Moliére formula [8] over a wide range of variation of the Born parameter, embracing the diffraction and refraction regimes, and a transition region between diffraction and reflection. A comparison is made with approximate formulas obtained earlier by Maleev et al. [9, 10] in the limiting cases of the Born parameter α ? 1 and α ? 1 for the diffraction and refraction regimes, respectively. It is shown that over a wide range of values of α the results of the calculations using the approximate and general formulas are the same. The theoretical conclusions were checked experimentally using data from measurements of small-angle neutron scattering for the domain structure of ferromagnets. Measurements were made of the neutron beam broadening for samples of different thickness and these were used to determine the effective domain sizes in pure iron and nickel exposed to thermal treatment and plastic deformation, and also in the Invar alloys Fe⁶⁵Ni³⁵and Fe³Pt. An analysis is made of the angular dependence of magnetic small-angle neutron scattering at the asymptote.     

Matrix formulation of the beam quality of the Hermite-Gaussian beam

Based on the M ²-parameter of Hermite-Gaussian beam, we deduced the matrix formulation of the beam quality for nonsymmetric two-dimensional Hermite-Gaussian beam, which at an arbitrary azimyth angle α. And coupled beam radius square, coupled M ²-parameter also have been introduced. The beam radius versus azimuth angle α at different positions has been presented by numerical simulation; and the track of M ²-parameter versus azimuth angle α has been given. The M ²-parameter matrix is universal and available both in the theoretical analysis and the practical measurement of the beam quality for a arbitrary two-dimensional nonsymmetric higher-order Gaussian beam.     

New information on β-delayed neutron emission from 12,14Be

The β-delayed neutron branches from neutron-rich Be-isotopes have been measured with a setup sensitive down to thermal energies. For ¹⁴Be a new value of P_n = 101 ± 4% has been found for the total neutron-emission probability and an upper limit of 2.4% (95% confidence level) is imposed on the combination P_2n + 3P_3n of multi-neutron emission probabilities. Moreover, an improved value of P_n = 0.50 ± 0.03% has been obtained for ¹²Be. A time-correlation method, previously developed for a continuous radioactive beam to determine neutron branching ratios, has been revised and adapted to the pulsed secondary beam at ISOLDE, CERN.     

Coherent π0 photoproduction from 4He

Differential cross sections and beam asymmetries for coherent π⁰ photoproduction from ⁴He in the Δ energy-range have been measured with high statistical and systematic precision using both decay photons for identifying the process. The experiment was performed at the MAinz MIcrotron using the TAPS photon spectrometer and the Glasgow/Mainz tagged photon facility. The differential cross sections are in excellent agreement with predictions based on the DWIA if an appropriate parametrization of the Δ-nuclear interaction is applied. The beam asymmetries are interpreted in terms of degrees of linear polarization of collimated coherent bremsstrahlung. The expected increase of the degree of linear polarization with decreasing collimation angle is confirmed. Agreement with calculations is obtained on a few-percent level of precision in the maxima of the coherent peaks.     

Level scheme of198Au from γ-γ-coincidence measurements

Prompt and delayed low energyγ-γ-coincidences from the¹⁹⁷Au(n, γ)¹⁹⁸Au reaction have been measured with Ge(Li) and NaI(Tl) detectors at the external neutron beam of the research reactor (FRM) near Munich. A level scheme consistent with all available experimental data is constructed and discussed. The half-life of the 367.29 keV level was obtained with a time-to-amplitude converter to be 123 ± 4 ns. It determines the absolute transition probability of the 97.211 keVE1 transition.     

Clustering in neutron-rich nuclei

Clustering in nuclei is discussed putting emphasis on the investigation of the role of nuclear clustering in neutron-rich nuclei. The subjects we discuss include clustering in neutron-rich Be, B and C isotopes, clustering in the island of inversion around N = 20, and clustering in the region with A ≈ 40. Be isotopes present us typical examples of clustering in neutron-rich nuclei not only in their ground band states but also in their excited band states, for which we show the analyses based on antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (AMD). Clustering in Be isotopes near neutron dripline is intimately related to the breaking of the neutron magic number N = 8. In this connection we report our study about the possible relation of the clustering with the breaking of the neutron magic number N = 20 in the island of inversion including ³²Mg and ³⁰Ne. Our discussion is not only about the positive parity states but also about negative parity states. Recently in the latter half of sd shell and in the pf shell many excited rotational bands with large deformation have been found to exist. Since the first excited K ^π = 0⁺ and K ^π = 0^- bands in ⁴⁰Ca have been regarded as constituting inversion doublet bands having the ³⁶Ar + α structure, and since the first excited K ^π = 0^- band in ⁴⁴Ti has been concluded to have ⁴⁰Ca + α structure through the α transfer reaction and by using the unique α optical potential on ⁴⁰Ca, it is important to investigate the role of α clustering in these newly-found rotational bands with large deformation. We will report the AMD study about this problem.     

Recoil proton tagged knockout reaction for He

We report for the first time the discrimination of the core fragment knockout and valence nucleon knockout reaction mechanisms at medium energy range, by the use of the recoil proton tagging technique. Intense ⁸He beams at 82.3 MeV/u were supplied by the RIPS beam line at RIKEN, and impinged on both hydrogen and carbon targets. Recoil protons were detected in coincidence with the forward moving core fragments and neutrons. The core fragment knockout mechanism is identified through the polar angle correlation and checked by various kinematics relations. This mechanism may be used to extract the cluster structure information of unstable nuclei. On the other hand, with the selection of the tagged valence nucleon knockout mechanism, a narrower peak of ⁷He ground state is obtained. The extracted neutron spectroscopic factor Sn=0.512(18) is relatively smaller than the no-tagged one, and is in good agreement with the prediction of ab initio Green?s function Monte Carlo calculations.     

Nuclear Quadrupole Interactions in Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Detection of Energetic and Controlled Materials: Theoretical Study

There has been a growing interest in nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) techniques useful for the detection of explosives and drugs in solid state systems. This paper uses the first-principles one-electron Hartree?CFock theoretical method to study the nuclear quadrupole interaction parameters e ² qQ and ?? for the ¹⁴N nuclei in the explosives RDX and ??-HMX as well as the drugs cocaine and heroin. It has been found in our earlier published investigations reviewed here that there is very good agreement for our calculated e ² qQ and ?? for ¹⁴N, for all these four systems, and experiment. We also present our unpublished theoretical results for cocaine with an HCl molecule attached. We successfully explain quantitatively the drastic decrease in e ² qQ in going to cocaine-HCl from cocaine-free base as well as the observed substantial increase in ?? and discuss the implications of these dramatic changes for NQR detection in general.     

Development and evaluation of magnetic resonance technologies, particularly NMR, for detection of explosives

Beginning in 1972 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technologies for detecting explosives and illegal contraband were developed and evaluated at the Southwest Research Institute. Fullscale systems on the basis of hydrogen transient NMR were developed and evaluated in laboratory and field tests with generally favorable results but with some limitations. These included (1) an experimental, mobile system for detecting buried, nonmetallic land mines; (2) an instrument for inspection of letters and small parcels for small quantities of explosives or illegal drugs; (3) a system for inspection of checked airline baggage and air cargo for concealed explosives and illegal drugs; and (4) a system for rapid inspection of quantities of mail for illegal drugs.¹H NMR offers high sensitivity and detects high-energy explosives such as RDX, TNT, and PETN, as well as nitroglycerine and ammonium-nitrate-based explosives and illegal drugs. Challenges in both physics and engineering were successfully addressed to achieve the goals of rapid inspection with low false-alarm and high detection probability. Electron paramagnetic resonance was found suitable for detecting black powder in laboratory tests as was nuclear quadrupole resonance for a few high-energy explosives. Low-field¹H NMR was also explored in the laboratory to make it practical for explosives detection and found to have potential, but numerous implementation problems must be overcome.     

In the wonderland of ultra-parallel neutron beams

Bragg reflections from single crystals yield angular widths of a few arcsec for thermal neutron beams. The Bonse-Hart proposal to attain a sharp, nearly rectangular profile by Bragg reflecting neutrons multiply from a channel-cut single crystal, was realized in its totality three and a half decades later by achieving the corresponding Darwin reflection curves for 5.23 Å neutrons. This facilitated SUSANS (Super USANS) measurements in the Q ～ 10^?5 Å^?1 range. The polarized neutron option was introduced into the SUSANS set-up by separating the up- and down-spin neutron beams by ～10 arcsec with a magnetic (air) prism. The neutron angular width has recently been reduced further by an order of magnitude to ～0.6 arcsec by diffracting 5.3 Å neutrons from a judiciously optimized Bragg prism. This constitutes the most parallel monochromatic neutron beam produced to date. I present the first SUSANS spectra probing the Q ～ 10^?6 Å^?1 domain, recorded with this beam.     

Evaluating the yield of transuranium nuclides with masses of up to A = 270 via pulsed nucleosynthesis

A model of the creation of transuranium isotopes of up to A = 270 under conditions of pulse nucleosynthesis in a neutron flux with densities of up to ??10²⁵ neutron cm^?2 is considered. The pulse process allows us to divide it in time into two stages: the process of multiple neutron captures (t < 10^?6 s) and the subsequent ??-decay of neutron-excess nuclei. The modeling of the transuranium yields takes into account the adiabatic character of the process, the probability of delayed fission, and the emission of delayed neutrons. A target with a binary composition of ²³⁸U and ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴⁸Cm, and ²⁵¹Cf isotopes is used to predict the yields of heavy and superheavy isotopes.     

Quasiparticle lifetimes in pure Al and Pb

We present results of theoretical calculations of the quasiparticle lifetimes in pure Al and Pb which are due to the electron-phonon interaction. A four-plane-wave model is used to describe the electronic structure and the coupling with the phonons. The lattice dynamics is taken from inelastic neutron scattering data. At a given temperature (T) the lifetimes (τ) display considerable variation with position on the Fermi surface (FS). At several points on the FS we obtain through a least-squares fit to our numerical output on the low temperature variation of τ, the best power law of the form AT^α with A and α constants. The exponent α is found to vary significantly from point to point.     

Study on the imaging ability of the 2D neutron detector based on MWPC

A 2D neutron detector based on 3 He convertor and MWPC with an active area of 200 mm×200 mm has been successfully designed and fabricated.The detector has been tested with Am/Be neutron source and with collimated neutron beam with the wavelength of =1.37.The best spatial resolution of 1.18 mm(FWHM) and good linearity were obtained.This is in good agreement with theoretical calculations.     

Asymmetric fission of the pre-actinide nuclei

Study of α particles, protons and neutrons emission in reactions induced by¹⁶O on Sn targets. The threshold for direct a emission is found to be v/c?0.04 (v velocity of the projectile at the top of the Coulomb barrier) whereas direct protons and neutrons, if any, would be emitted for beam energies higher than 7.8MeV/n. (v/c>0.092). Atv/c 0.092, 90% of the direct a cross section is shown to be incomplete fusion. On¹¹⁶Sn target, besides the main exit channels α4n and αp4n, we observed 2α4n and α2p4n channels where the direct α is followed by evaporation particles. This implies a lower initial angular momentum than for the main channels.     

β delayed emission of a proton by a one-neutron halo nucleus

Some one-neutron halo nuclei can emit a proton in a β decay of the halo neutron. The branching ratio towards this rare decay mode is calculated within a two-body potential model of the initial core + neutron bound state and final core + proton scattering states. The decay probability per second is evaluated for the ¹¹Be, ¹⁹C and ³¹Ne one-neutron halo nuclei. It is very sensitive to the neutron separation energy.     

The Pauli exclusion effect in multiparticle and hole state densities

Neutron time-of-flight spectra were measured in coincidence withγ-rays characteristic for thexn (x=2, 3, 4, 5) fusion-like products in reactions of 35–57 MeVα-particles with¹²⁴Sn. Additional information was obtained from excitation function andγ-multiplicity measurements. The neutron energy spectra for a specificx n channel at high bombarding energies clearly show the presence of nonequilibrium neutron emission. The spectra are parameterized in terms of emission from a slow equilibrated and a fast moving source. The fast moving source has a velocity close to the beam velocity indicating a close relationship between the movement of the projectile and the neutron emission.     

Forensic Studies by EA-IRMS

Abstract

The authenticity of natural and synthetic matter can be checked by measurement of the isotope ratios of C, N and S. Controlled substances like drugs of abuse (cocaine, heroin) and explosives (TNT) or, simply, traces of paint can hold information in their isotope pattern. Total combustion of samples in an elemental analyzer followed by on-line determination of the isotopes of the combustion products (CO², N², SO²) in an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS) provides high sample throughout with a minimum of sample preparation.