Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: In this Letter we discuss the potential application of antineutrino monitoring to the Iranian heavy water reactor at Arak, the IR-40, as a nonproliferation measure. An above ground detector positioned right outside the IR-40 reactor building could meet IAEA verification goals for reactor plutonium inventories. While detectors with the needed spectral sensitivity have been demonstrated below ground, additional research and development is needed to demonstrate an above-ground detector with this same level of sensitivity. In addition to monitoring the reactor during operation, observing antineutrino emissions from long-lived fission products could also allow monitoring the reactor when it is shut down, provided very low detector backgrounds can be achieved. Antineutrino monitoring could also be used to distinguish different levels of fuel enrichment. Most importantly, these capabilities would not require a complete reactor operational history and could provide a means to reestablish continuity of knowledge in safeguards conclusions should this become necessary.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institution: Virginia Tech
Language: English
Topic: Neutrino Physics Research
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy
OpenAlex ID: W1842936740