Two nuclear data scoping studies were initiated to determine the impact of nuclear data to the nonproliferation mission and to suggest a path forward to resolving important nuclear data issues. The first study is a comprehensive review of (alpha,n) nuclear data. The (alpha,n) study will examine the uncertainties in (alpha,n) reaction neutron yields and attempt to quantify the impact to nonproliferation applications. A primary focus will be the 19F(alpha,n)22Na reaction but (alpha,n) data for actinides mixed with oxides, salts and other light isotopes will also be examined. The nuclear data needs will be prioritized, and a science plan will be developed to resolve the most impactful nuclear data needs. This plan may include: energy integral and differential measurements on thin and/or thick targets; benchmarking of alpha stopping powers in varying matrices; neutron and gamma emission spectrum measurements; new (alpha,n) reaction evaluations; and modernization of codes used to predict the source term. The second scoping study is to examine the nuclear data required for active neutron interrogation. The active neutron interrogation study will examine fast-neutron gamma-ray production data and evaluate the state the nuclear data, evaluate the current modeling capabilities for neutron induced gamma-ray production and identify important signatures that may benefit nonproliferation applications. Several nonproliferation measurement systems rely heavily on the detection of gamma rays from neutron-induced reactions in interrogated objects, but neutron-induced gamma-ray production data are incomplete for most isotopes of interest. This study will determine how the incomplete data limits the ability to model these systems. The nuclear data needs will be prioritized, and a science plan will be developed to resolve the most impactful nuclear data needs.
Year
2020
Abstract