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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 469 records · Page 26

Laser Scribing for Electrode Patterning of Perovskite Spectrometer-Grade CsPbBr 3 Gamma-ray Detectors

Making semiconductor radiation detectors that work at room temperature relies heavily on the deposition and pixelation of electrodes. Electrode patterning of perovskite solar cells widely implements laser scribing techniques, which is a convenient, scalable, and inexpensive technique. However, this method has not found its application in radiation detector patterning yet, and the question whether laser scribing can achieve high-quality patterns with minimum damage to a detector crystal and low interpixel cross-talk remains largely unanswered. To prove that laser scribing is a practical method for electrode patterning on perovskite CsPbBr 3 detectors, we use the material to create a variety of patterns. A very low lateral leakage current (60 nA at 10 V) and high mobility-lifetime product (9.7(3) x 10 -4 cm 2 /V) were observed between the pixel and the guard ring in tests of single-pixel devices with a separation of 200 or 100 μm between the central electrode and the guard ring. The 122 and 136 keV photopeaks in 57 Co gamma-ray spectra were very well resolved with an energy resolution of up to 6.1% at 122 keV. Finally, a further reduction in gap size to 50 mu m is conceivable, but more process optimization is needed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Validating (d,p gamma) as a Surrogate for Neutron Capture

The r-process is responsible for creating roughly half of the elements heavier than iron. It has recently become understood that the rates at which neutron capture reactions proceed at late times in the r-process may dramatically affect the final abundance pattern. However, direct measurements of neutron capture reaction rates on exotic nuclei are exceptionally difficult, necessitating the development of indirect approaches such as the surrogate technique. The (d,pγ) reaction at low energies was identified as a promising surrogate for the (n,γ) reaction, as both reactions share many characteristics. We report on a program to validate (d,pγ) as a surrogate for (n,γ) using 95 Mo as a target. The experimental campaign includes direct measurements of the γ-ray intensities from the decay of excited states populated in the 95 Mo(n,γ) and 95 Mo(d,pγ) reactions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Microscopic evidence for scission neutrons

We discuss the neck rupture stage of fission and the emission of particles afterwards, two extremely rapid and highly non-equilibrium processes. Currently, the neck rupture cannot be directly probed by experiment, highlighting the importance of reliable theoretical predictions for this stage of fission. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is used to simulate the spontaneous fission of 252 Cf. In conjunction with statistical models, inputs from microscopic calculations can be used to make predictions for prompt neutron and gamma emission spectra, quantities which can be experimentally measured. Here we characterize the scission mechanism within TDDFT and estimate the number of scission neutrons and their kinetic energies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Electron Linac design to drive bright Compton back-scattering gamma-ray sources

The technological development in the field of high brightness linear accelerators and high energy/high quality lasers enables today designing high brilliance Compton-X and Gamma-photon beams suitable for a wide range of applications in the innovative field of nuclear photonics. The challenging requirements of this kind of source comprise: tunable energy (1-20 MeV), very narrow bandwidth (0.3%), and high spectral density (10{sup 4} photons/s/eV). We present here a study focused on the design and the optimization of an electron Linac aimed to meet the source specifications of the European Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics project, currently funded and seeking for an innovative machine design in order to outperform state-of-the-art facilities. We show that the phase space density of the electron beam, at the collision point against the laser pulse, is the main quality factor characterizing the Linac.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Feasibility study for measurement of insulation compaction in the cryogenic rocket fuel storage tanks at Kennedy Space Center by fast/thermal neutron techniques

The liquid hydrogen and oxygen cryogenic storage tanks at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) use expanded perlite as thermal insulation. Some of the perlite may have compacted over time, compromising the thermal performance and also the structural integrity of the tanks. Neutrons can readily penetrate through the 1.75 cm outer steel shell and through the entire 120 cm thick perlite zone. Neutrons interactions with materials produce characteristic gamma rays which are then detected. In compacted perlite the count rates in the individual peaks in the gamma ray spectrum will increase. Portable neutron generators can produce neutron simultaneous fluxes in two energy ranges: fast (14 MeV) and thermal (25 meV). Fast neutrons produce gamma rays by inelastic scattering which is sensitive to Si, Al, Fe and O. Thermal neutrons produce gamma rays by radiative capture in prompt gamma neutron activation (PGNA), which is sensitive to Si, Al, Na, K and H among others. The results of computer simulations using the software MCNP and measurements on a test article suggest that the most promising approach would be to operate the system in time-of-flight mode by pulsing the neutron generator and observing the subsequent die away curve in the PGNA signal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The monitoring and verification of nuclear weapons

This paper partially reviews and updates the potential for monitoring and verification of nuclear weapons, including verification of their destruction. Cooperative monitoring with templates of the gamma-ray spectrum are an important tool, dependent on the use of information barriers.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Maximal Cherenkov γ-radiation on Fermi-surface of compact stars

The quantum magnetohydrodynamic model is employed in this paper to study the extraordinary (XO) elliptically polarized electromagnetic wave dispersion in quantum plasmas with spin-1/2 magnetization and relativistic degeneracy effects, considering also the electron-exchange and quantum diffraction of electrons. From the lower and upper calculated XO-modes, it is observed that, for electrons on the surface of the Fermi-sphere, the lower XO-mode can excite the Cherenkov radiation by crossing the Fermi-line, with some proper conditions depending on the values of independent plasma parameters, such as the relativistic-degeneracy, the atomic-number of constituent ions, and the magnetic field strength. Particularly, a lower electron number-density and Cherenkov radiation frequency limits are found to exist, for instance, for given values of the plasma ions atomic-number and the magnetic field strength below which the radiation can not be excited by the electrons on the Fermi-surface. This lower density limit increases by decrease in the atomic-number but decreases with decrease in the strength of the ambient magnetic field. It is remarkable that in this research it is discovered that the maximal Cherenkov-radiation per unit-length (the energy radiated by superluminal electrons traveling through the dielectric medium) coincides with the plasma number-densities, which is present in compact stars with the maximal radiation frequency lying in the gamma-ray spectrum. Current study can provide an important plasma diagnostic tool for a wide plasma density range, be it the solid density, the warm dense matter, the inertial confined or the astrophysical compact plasmas and may reveal an important cooling mechanism for white dwarfs. Current findings may also answer the fundamental astrophysical question on the mysterious origin of intense cosmic gamma-ray emissions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Extended performance gas Cherenkov detector for gamma-ray detection in high-energy density experiments

A new Gas Cherenkov Detector (GCD) with low-energy threshold and high sensitivity, currently known as Super GCD (or GCD-3 at OMEGA), is being developed for use at the OMEGA Laser Facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Super GCD is designed to be pressurized to ≤400 psi (absolute) and uses all metal seals to allow the use of fluorinated gases inside the target chamber. This will allow the gamma energy threshold to be run as low at 1.8 MeV with 400 psi (absolute) of C{sub 2}F{sub 6}, opening up a new portion of the gamma ray spectrum. Super GCD operating at 20 cm from TCC will be ∼400 × more efficient at detecting DT fusion gammas at 16.7 MeV than the Gamma Reaction History diagnostic at NIF (GRH-6m) when operated at their minimum thresholds.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Characterization of silicon photomultipliers at National Nano-Fab Center for PET-MR

The silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) were fabricated for magnetic resonance compatible positron emission tomography (PET) applications using customized CMOS processes at National NanoFab Center. Each micro-cell consists of a shallow n+/p well junction on a p-type epitaxial wafer and passive quenching circuit was applied. The size of the SiPM is 3 × 3 mm{sup 2} and the pitch of each micro-cell is 65 μm. In this work, several thousands of SiPMs were packaged and tested to build a PET ring detector which has a 60 mm axial and 390 mm radial field of view. I-V characteristics of the SiPMs are shown good uniformity and breakdown voltage is around 20 V. The photon detection efficiency was measured via photon counting method and the maximum value was recorded as 16% at 470 nm. The gamma ray spectrum of a Ge-68 isotope showed nearly 10% energy resolution at 511 keV with a 3 × 3 × 20 mm{sup 3} LYSO crystal.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

True coincidence summing corrections for an extended energy range HPGe detector

True coincidence summing (TCS) effect for natural radioactive families of U-238 and Th-232 represents a problem when an environmental sample with a close source-detector geometry measurement is performed. By using a certified multi-nuclide standard source to calibrate an energy extended range (XtRa) HPGe detector, it is possible to obtain an intensity spectrum slightly affected by the TCS effect with energies from 46 to 1836 keV. In this work, the equations and some other considerations required to calculate the TCS correction factor for isotopes of natural radioactive chains are described. It is projected a validation of the calibration, performed with the IAEA-CU-2006-03 samples (soil and water)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Radioisotope identification method for poorly resolved gamma-ray spectrum of nuclear security concern

Gamma-ray signal can be used as a fingerprint for radioisotope identification. In the context of radioactive and nuclear materials security at the border control point, the detection task can present a significant challenge due to various constraints such as the limited measurement time, the shielding conditions, and the noise interference. This study proposes a novel method to identify the signal of one or several radioisotopes from a poorly resolved gamma-ray spectrum. In this method, the noise component in the raw spectrum is reduced by the wavelet decomposition approach, and the removal of the continuum background is performed using the baseline determination algorithm. Finally, the identification of radioisotope is completed using the matrix linear regression method. The proposed method has been verified by experiments using the poorly resolved gamma-ray signals from various scenarios including single source, mixing of natural uranium with five of the most common industrial radioactive sources (57Co, 60Co, 133Ba, 137Cs, and 241Am). The preliminary results show that the proposed algorithm is comparable with the commercial method.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Applying the new gamma ray imager diagnostic to measurements of runaway electron Bremsstrahlung radiation in the DIII-D Tokamak (invited)

A new gamma ray imager (GRI) is developed to probe the electron distribution function with 2D spatial resolution during runaway electron (RE) experiments at the DIII-D tokamak. The diagnostic is sensitive to 0.5–100 MeV gamma rays, allowing characterization of the RE distribution function evolution during RE growth and dissipation. The GRI consists of a lead “pinhole camera” mounted on the DIII-D midplane with 123 honeycombed tangential chords 20 cm wide that span the vessel interior. Up to 30 bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillation detectors capture RE bremsstrahlung radiation for Pulse Height Analysis (PHA) capable of discriminating up to 20 000 pulses per second. Digital signal processing routines combining shaping filters are performed during PHA to reject noise and record gamma ray energy. The GRI setup and PHA algorithms will be described and initial data from experiments will be presented. A synthetic diagnostic is developed to generate the gamma ray spectrum of a GRI channel given the plasma information and a prescribed distribution function. Magnetic reconstructions of the plasma are used to calculate the angle between every GRI sightline and orient and discriminate gamma rays emitted by a field-aligned RE distribution function.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Cherenkov detector analysis for implosions with multiple nuclear reactions

Nuclear reactions that produce γ rays occur in inertial fusion implosions and are commonly measured with Cherenkov detectors. Typically a detector is primarily sensitive to a single reaction, but in some implosions, multiple fusion reactions can occur and are combined in the data. Here we discuss an analysis technique using multiple thresholded detectors to reproduce the individual burn histories from reactions like DT and HT fusion, which is applicable to separated-reactant mix experiments. Finally, requirements for this technique and resulting analysis uncertainties are quantified using synthetic data.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

An all-digital associated particle imaging system for the 3D determination of isotopic distributions

Associated particle imaging (API) is a non-destructive nuclear technique for the 3D determination of isotopic distributions. By detecting the alpha particle associated with the emitted neutron in the deuterium–tritium fusion reaction with a position- and time-resolving detector, the direction of the 14.1 MeV neutron and its time of emission can be determined. Employing this method, isotope characteristic gamma rays emitted in inelastic neutron scattering events can be correlated with the neutron interaction location. Here, an API system consisting of a sealed-type neutron generator, gamma detectors, and a position-sensitive alpha detector was designed, constructed, and characterized. The system was tested with common soil elements and shown to be sensitive to 12 C, 16 O, 28 Si, 27 Al, and 56 Fe. New aspects of our approach are the use of a yttrium–aluminum–perovskite scintillator, using a sapphire window instead of a fiber-optic faceplate for light transport to the photomultiplier, and the all-digital data acquisition system. We present a description of the system with simulations and experimental results that show a position resolution on the alpha detector of 1 mm, a depth resolution using a LaBr 3 detector of 6.2 cm, and an angular resolution of 4.5°. Additionally, we present single-element gamma response measurements for the elements mentioned above together with a comparison to Monte Carlo simulations (MCNP6).

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Beam particle identification and tagging of incompletely stripped heavy beams with HEIST

A challenge preventing successful inverse kinematics measurements with heavy nuclei that are not fully stripped is identifying and tagging the beam particles. For this purpose, the HEavy ISotope Tagger (HEIST) has been developed. HEIST utilizes two micro-channel plate timing detectors to measure the time-of-flight, a multi-sampling ion chamber to measure energy loss, and a high-purity germanium detector to identify isomer decays and calibrate the isotope identification system. HEIST has successfully identified 198 Pb and other nearby nuclei at energies of about 75 MeV/A. In the experiment discussed, a typical cut containing 89% of all 198 Pb 80+ in the beam had a purity of 86%. We examine the issues of charge state contamination. Here, the observed charge state populations of these ions are presented and, using an adjusted beam energy, are well described by the charge state model GLOBAL.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Simple new methods for deducing lifetimes in recoil distance Doppler-shift measurements

In this work, new approaches for lifetime determination using data from recoil distance Doppler-shift experiments are presented based on the fundamental properties of the functions describing the time evolution of the population of excited nuclear states. To some extent, one of them represents a contraction of the well-known Differential decay-curve method (DDCM) by using the most reliable data point [the maximum of the $n_i(t)$ function describing the population of level $\textit{i}$ in time] and a purely numerical procedure avoiding any fitting of decay curves. The combination with the standard DDCM analysis is promising for improving the reliability and the precision of the results for the lifetimes obtained. The novel part of the approach consists of using a chain of equations at the consecutive maxima of the ni(t) functions, which allow us to precisely determine the ratio of the lifetimes of two consecutive levels and, in the case where one of these lifetimes is known, to determine the unknown one. In addition, a simple integral derivation of the lifetime is presented involving the peak areas measured at different distances, and an application of the first moments (expectation values and centroids in time) of the $n_i(t)$ functions for determining lifetimes is also demonstrated to be useful.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

STATISTICAL STUDY OF 2XMMi-DR3/SDSS-DR8 CROSS-CORRELATION SAMPLE

Cross-correlating the XMM-Newton 2XMMi-DR3 catalog with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8, we obtain one of the largest X-ray/optical catalogs and explore the distribution of various classes of X-ray emitters in the multidimensional photometric parameter space. Quasars and galaxies occupy different zones while stars scatter in them. However, X-ray active stars have a certain distributing rule according to spectral types. The earlier the type of stars, the stronger its X-ray emitting. X-ray active stars have a similar distribution to most stars in the g - r versus r - i diagram. Based on the identified samples with SDSS spectral classification, a random forest algorithm for automatic classification is performed. The result shows that the classification accuracy of quasars and galaxies adds up to more than 93.0% while that of X-ray emitting stars only amounts to 45.3%. In other words, it is easy to separate quasars and galaxies, but it is difficult to discriminate X-ray active stars from quasars and galaxies. If we want to improve the accuracy of automatic classification, it is necessary to increase the number of X-ray emitting stars, since the majority of X-ray emitting sources are quasars and galaxies. The results obtained here will be used for the optical spectral survey performed by the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST, also named the Guo Shou Jing Telescope), which is a Chinese national scientific research facility operated by the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Multiwavelength observations of the TeV binary LS I +61° 303 with Veritas, Fermi-LAT, and Swift/xrt during a TeV outburst

We present the results of a multiwavelength observational campaign on the TeV binary system LS I +61° 303 with the VERITAS telescope array (>200 GeV), Fermi-LAT (0.3-300 GeV), and Swift/XRT (2-10 keV). The data were taken from 2011 December through 2012 January and show a strong detection in all three wavebands. During this period VERITAS obtained 24.9 hr of quality selected livetime data in which LS I +61° 303 was detected at a statistical significance of 11.9σ. These TeV observations show evidence for nightly variability in the TeV regime at a post-trial significance of 3.6σ. The combination of the simultaneously obtained TeV and X-ray fluxes do not demonstrate any evidence for a correlation between emission in the two bands. For the first time since the launch of the Fermi satellite in 2008, this TeV detection allows the construction of a detailed MeV-TeV spectral energy distribution from LS I +61° 303. This spectrum shows a distinct cutoff in emission near 4 GeV, with emission seen by the VERITAS observations following a simple power-law above 200 GeV. This feature in the spectrum of LS I +61° 303, obtained from overlapping observations with Fermi-LAT and VERITAS, may indicate that there are two distinct populations of accelerated particles producing the GeV and TeV emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗