A New Method for the Analysis of the Detection Signal Arriving from a Pulsed Neutron Active Interrogation Facility

In this paper, we introduce a formalism for analyzing the detection signal, gen- erated by a pulsed source interrogation facility, in order to estimate the mass of the tested fissile material. In particular, we analytically derive expressions for the first three moments of the number of detections in a given time interval, in term of the different neutron sources in the system- which will, in turn, allow us to isolate the fis- sion source from the other sources in the system. While the model we construct share exactly the same physical assumptions as the currently existing model, the simplicity of the suggested formalism allows us to take into account the variance of the pulsed neutron source generator.