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DOE OSTI2017

BiI 3 Crystals for High Energy Resolution Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy

BiI 3 had been investigated for its unique properties as a layered compound semiconductor for many decades. However, despite the exceptional atomic, physical, and electronic properties of this material, good resolution gamma ray spectra had never been reported for BiI 3 . The shortcomings that previously prevented BiI 3 from reaching success as a gamma ray sensor were, through this project, identified and suppressed to unlock the performance of this promising compound. Included in this work were studies on a number of methods which have, for the first time, enabled BiI 3 to exhibit spectral performance rivaling many other candidate semiconductors for room temperature gamma ray sensors. New approaches to crystal growth were explored that allow BiI 3 spectrometers to be fabricated with up to 2.2% spectral resolution at 662 keV. Fundamental studies on trap states, dopant incorporation, and polarization were performed to enhance performance of this compound. Additionally, advanced detection techniques were applied to display the capabilities of high quality BiI 3 spectrometers. Overall, through this work, BiI 3 has been revealed as a potentially transformative material for nuclear security and radiation detection sciences.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2016

The first GeV outburst of the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 1502+036

The γ-ray-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (γ-NLSy1) galaxy PKS 1502+036 (z = 0.409) exhibited its first γ-ray outburst on 2015 December 20. In the energy range of 0.1–300 GeV, the highest flux measured by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope is (3.90 ± 1.52) × 10{sup −6} ph cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}, which is the highest γ-ray flux ever detected from this object. The associated spectral shape is soft (Γ{sub 0.1–300 GeV} = 2.57 ± 0.17) and this corresponds to an isotropic γ-ray luminosity of (1.2 ± 0.6) × 10{sup 48} erg s{sup −1}. We generate the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) during the GeV flare and reproduce it using a one-zone leptonic emission model. The optical-UV spectrum can be explained by a combination of synchrotron and accretion disk emission, whereas the X-ray-to-γ-ray SED can be satisfactorily reproduced by inverse-Compton scattering of thermal photons that originated from the torus. The derived SED parameters hint that the increase in the bulk Lorentz factor is a major cause of the flare and the location of the emission region is estimated as being outside the broad-line region but still inside the torus. A comparison of the GeV-flaring SED of PKS 1502+036 with that of two other γ-NLSy1 galaxies, namely, 1H 0323+342 (z = 0.061) and PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.585), and also with flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) 3C 279 (z = 0.536), has led to the conclusion that the GeV-flaring SEDs of γ-NLSy1 galaxies resemble FSRQs and a major fraction of their bolometric luminosities are emitted at γ-ray energies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Depleted Uranium Discrimination Using Spectral Ratios from Data-Starved Spectra - 18619

The Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET) has developed mobile surveying platforms for the retrieval of fired depleted uranium (DU) munitions. ICET surveying platforms are fitted with differential global positioning system (GPS), scintillation detectors, and central processing units (CPUs). The surveying technology has historically been used to assist facilities where DU contamination is a concern to locate, retrieve, and remediate DU-contaminated areas. Residence times over DU sources for mobile systems normally do not produce enough data to use gamma ray spectroscopy to verify the source type. Discussed is a potential method used to discriminate DU signatures in data-starved gamma ray spectral data collected during field surveys. Laboratory tests have shown that data-starved gamma ray spectra for zero-valence, oxide, and uranium ores can be distinguished from each other and from background by spectral ratioing. Zero-valence DU and DU oxide gamma ray signatures differ due to the attenuation of low-energy gammas emitted from U-238 daughters. DU signatures can be differentiated from naturally occurring uranium spectra due to the presence of daughters below U-234, primarily bismuth (Bi)-214, in the uranium decay series. Three primary regions of interest (ROI) within the analyzed test spectra are used to roughly characterize the shape of each test spectrum and compare them to background. The three ROIs are focused around the gamma-emitting daughters of U-238: thorium (Th)-234, protactinium (Pa)-234 metastable (m), and Bi-214. One of the three regions is considered the base region. This region is used to estimate what the counts in the other two regions should be by multiplying the counts in the ROIs by a ratio of background counts from an area previously found to be impacted. Using this spectral ratioing technique, a non-zero difference in spectral ratio values indicates a shift in the test spectra away from background. Calculating ratios between the base region and the other two regions allows for a graphical representation of the data in a two-dimensional spectral ratioing space, which is used to differentiate between the types of uranium sources previously mentioned. Surveying processes that are based on gross counts from scintillation counters can result in a large number of false positives as a result of shifting background signals or the presence of naturally occurring uranium. Application of the spectral ratioing technique can further assist in site characterization by analyzing all of the data-starved survey spectra to identify false positives or the need for additional data collection. Accurate surveys of DU testing and training ranges reduces the costs associated with range clean-up by discriminating clean areas from those requiring remediation. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

Detection of Anomalies in Gamma Background Radiation Data with K-Means and Self-Organizing Map Clustering Algorithms (Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT) Q1 Report)

Environmental screening of gamma radiation consists of detecting weak nuisance and anomaly signal in the presence of strong and highly varying background. In a typical scenario, a mobile detector-spectrometer continuously measures gamma radiation spectra in short, e.g., one-second, signal acquisition intervals. The measurement data is a 2D matrix, where one dimension is gamma ray energy, and the other dimension is the number of measurements or total time. In principle, gamma radiation sources can be detected and identified from the measured data by their unique spectral lines. Detecting sources from data measured in a search scenario is difficult due to the highly varying background because of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), and low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of spectral signal measured during one-second acquisition intervals. The objective of this work is to explore unsupervised machine learning (ML) algorithms for detection and identification of weak nuisances and anomalies events in the presence of highly fluctuating background. The challenge is that spectral lines of isotopes are difficult to observe in one-second measurements. Averaging over the entire measurement campaign data set reveals spectral lines of most common background isotopes. Spectral lines of orphan sources, which might appear only in a few measurements during the campaign, will be washed out if averaging is performed over the entire measurement data set. The approach we have explored consists of extracting one-second measurements containing weak spectral features through data clustering. Averaging one-second spectra in a cluster should reveal the presence of anomaly sources. We created two ML models using K-means clustering and Neural Network Self-organizing Map (SOM). Performance of these ML models was benchmarked using search data. One data set contained 137 Cs source, and another dataset contained 131 I source.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2015

SPECTRA OF COSMIC RAY ELECTRONS AND DIFFUSE GAMMA RAYS WITH THE CONSTRAINTS OF AMS-02 AND HESS DATA

Recently, AMS-02 reported their results of cosmic ray (CR) observations. In addition to the AMS-02 data, we add HESS data to estimate the spectra of CR electrons and the diffuse gamma rays above TeV. In the conventional diffusion model, a global analysis is performed on the spectral features of CR electrons and the diffuse gamma rays by the GALRPOP package. The results show that the spectrum structure of the primary component of CR electrons cannot be fully reproduced by a simple power law and that the relevant break is around 100 GeV. At the 99% confidence level (C.L.) the injection indices above the break decrease from 2.54 to 2.35, but the ones below the break are only in the range of 2.746–2.751. The spectrum of CR electrons does not need to add TeV cutoff to also match the features of the HESS data. Based on the difference between the fluxes of CR electrons and their primary components, the predicted excess of CR positrons is consistent with the interpretation that these positrons originate from a pulsar or dark matter. In the analysis of the Galactic diffuse gamma rays with the indirect constraint of AMS-02 and HESS data, it is found that the fluxes of Galactic diffuse gamma rays are consistent with the GeV data of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) in the high-latitude regions. The results indicate that inverse Compton scattering is the dominant component in the range of hundreds of GeV to tens of TeV, respectively from the high-latitude regions to the low ones, and in all of the regions of the Galaxy the flux of diffuse gamma rays is less than that of CR electrons at the energy scale of 20 TeV.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1990

Solar accelerated particles - Comparisons of abundances and energy spectra from particle and gamma-ray observations

Gamma-ray observations of the April 27, 1981 flare have been used to derive elemental abundances of both the ambient gas and the accelerated particle which interact with this gas to produce gamma rays. The results show that the abundances of the accelerated particles which produce the gamma rays are much more consistent with first-class particle abundances than with large proton-flare abundances. Observed bremsstrahlung spectral from 16 flares are compared with calculated bremsstrahlung spectra. It is concluded that the electrons observed in interplanetary space and the electrons responsible for gamma-ray production cannot be drawn from the same accelerated particle population without the former being affected by reacceleration or energy-dependent escape.

Ramaty, R.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Configuration and impurity quantification of AmLi sources using radiography and gamma spectroscopy

This paper presents the non-destructive assay of two AmLi sources used for detector characterization and active interrogation at PNNL, identified as MRC-101 and MRC-103. First, a detailed description of the internal configuration of 2724-BT encapsulated MRC sources is established. X-ray radiographs of the AmLi sources are reported for the first time to verify the dimensions and orientation of the encapsulation. Notably, a density variation was observed as a contrast change across the height of the source cavities. Contrary to commonly made assumptions in literature, it is indirectly observed that the AmLi source/target material only occupies a portion of the source cavity. The intensity of the prompt gamma-rays resulting from the inelastic scatter of alpha particles on 7Li was used to calculate the mass ratios of LiH:AmO2. The gamma-ray spectra revealed the presence of numerous impurities in both source and target material (243Am, 237Np, 154Eu, 23Na, and 9Be). Neutron-gamma production ratios were applied to the intensity of the Doppler-broadened peaks from alpha-induced reactions with 7Li, 9Be, and 23Na to calculate neutron rates for both sources. A neutron/alpha production yield (derived in this work) was then related to the atomic concentration of these isotopes to find the approximate masses within each source. Ultimately, the AmLi source density was estimated with prompt gamma analysis based on partial source volumes as 0.45±0.08 g/cm^3.

DTRA, AmLi, neutron↗

DOE OSTI2026

Interpolation of computed gamma-ray detector response functions

Gamma-ray spectra measured by traditional detectors contain features that result from a combination of the effects of detector materials/geometry, the incident gamma-ray energy, and the angle of entry. The features, such as the full-energy photopeak, Compton continuum, annihilation peak, and escape peaks, are governed by simple relationships depending on incident energy and have been known for a long time. Monte Carlo computer simulations of gamma rays interacting with a detector will show these features, and with a resolution function applied, the results should look similar to real measurements. The traditional approach to creating a detector response function requires many separate simulations of monoenergetic gamma rays striking the detector. This paper presents a new approach to developing computed detector response functions. The new approach involves a much smaller number of monoenergetic gamma-ray simulations and uses interpolation to quickly generate the responses of gamma rays that were not simulated. During the interpolation process, the underlying physics equations are used to accurately compute the response of a given energy gamma ray from the small set of simulations. Such work enables accelerated generation of synthetic radiation detector data.

Detector response↗

DOE OSTI2016

An Aerial Survey of the 200 East and 200 West Areas of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation - October 2016

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Aerial Measuring System (AMS), based at the Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) in Las Vegas, Nevada, performed an aerial survey of the 200 West and 200 East Areas of the DOE Hanford Site during September 2015. The survey was performed using the RSL Bell 412 helicopter equipped with twelve 2"x4"x16" thallium-activated sodium iodide (NaI) logs with their spectra summed to form a single detector and a mechanically-cooled high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. Both detectors collected gamma ray spectra from naturally-occurring radioactive materials and from anthropogenic radioactive materials present due to activities at the site. Data was collected over the site during the 30 hours of survey flight time, resulting in approximately 100,000 one-second spectra collected by both the NaI array and the HPGe detector. These data have been analyzed to map the distribution of anthropogenic radioactivity and identify the isotopes responsible for that activity.

200 East↗

DOE OSTI2021

Detection of Anomalies in Environmental Gamma Radiation Background with Hopfield Artificial Neural Network - Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT) Q3 Report

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2021

Development of Hopfield Artificial Neural Network for Anomaly Detection in Environmental Gamma Radiation Background: Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT) (Q2 Report)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

NASA NTRS1984

Sharp edges in solar microwave spectra - Neutral current sheets or cyclotron lines?

Two solar active regions have been mapped using the VLA at three closely spaced frequencies (4496, 4716, and 4996 MHz) in an attempt to determine the origin of the steep spectra (index gamma equal to about -5 to -8) sometimes observed with large single telescopes. One of the regions observed indeed shows an anomalously large slope (gamma equal to about -6) compared to the usual (gamma equal to about -2 to -2.5). The other region shows a similar slope (gamma equal to about -5) but with a larger range of statistical error. Two possible explanations for such steep edges in solar spectra are (1) transmission effects of neutral current sheets, and (2) the appearance of cyclotron lines. The internal evidence of the microwave maps and simultaneous optical observations favor an explanation in terms of cyclotron lines.

Schmahl, E. J.↗

DOE OSTI2014

An Overview of the XGAM Code and Related Software for Gamma-ray Analysis

The XGAM spectrum-fitting code and associated software were developed specifically to analyze the complex gamma-ray spectra that can result from neutron-induced reactions. The XGAM code is designed to fit a spectrum over the entire available gamma-ray energy range as a single entity, in contrast to the more traditional piecewise approaches. This global-fit philosophy enforces background continuity as well as consistency between local and global behavior throughout the spectrum, and in a natural way. This report presents XGAM and the suite of programs built around it with an emphasis on how they fit into an overall analysis methodology for complex gamma-ray data. An application to the analysis of time-dependent delayed gamma-ray yields from 235 U fission is shown in order to showcase the codes and how they interact.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

DISCOVERY OF THE HARD SPECTRUM VHE γ-RAY SOURCE HESS J1641–463

This Letter reports the discovery of a remarkably hard spectrum source, HESS J1641–463, by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in the very high energy (VHE) domain. HESS J1641–463 remained unnoticed by the usual analysis techniques due to confusion with the bright nearby source HESS J1640–465. It emerged at a significance level of 8.5 standard deviations after restricting the analysis to events with energies above 4 TeV. It shows a moderate flux level of φ(E>1 TeV) = (3.64 ± 0.44{sub stat} ± 0.73{sub sys}) × 10{sup –13} cm{sup –2} s{sup –1}, corresponding to 1.8% of the Crab Nebula flux above the same energy, and a hard spectrum with a photon index of Γ = 2.07 ± 0.11{sub stat} ± 0.20{sub sys}. It is a point-like source, although an extension up to a Gaussian width of σ = 3 arcmin cannot be discounted due to uncertainties in the H.E.S.S. point-spread function. The VHE γ-ray flux of HESS J1641–463 is found to be constant over the observed period when checking time binnings from the year-by-year to the 28 minute exposure timescales. HESS J1641–463 is positionally coincident with the radio supernova remnant SNR G338.5+0.1. No X-ray candidate stands out as a clear association; however, Chandra and XMM-Newton data reveal some potential weak counterparts. Various VHE γ-ray production scenarios are discussed. If the emission from HESS J1641–463 is produced by cosmic ray protons colliding with the ambient gas, then their spectrum must extend close to 1 PeV. This object may represent a source population contributing significantly to the galactic cosmic ray flux around the knee.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Understanding Doppler Broadening of Gamma Rays

Doppler-broadened gamma ray peaks are observed routinely in the collection and analysis of gamma-ray spectra. If not recognized and understood, the appearance of Doppler broadening can complicate the interpretation of a spectrum and the correct identification of the gamma ray-emitting material. We have conducted a study using a simulation code to demonstrate how Doppler broadening arises and provide a real-world example in which Doppler broadening is found. This report describes that study and its results.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2016

THE SECOND KONUS- WIND CATALOG OF SHORT GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

In this catalog, we present the results of a systematic study of 295 short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by Konus- Wind (KW) from 1994 to 2010. From the temporal and spectral analyses of the sample, we provide the burst durations, the spectral lags, the results of spectral fits with three model functions, the total energy fluences, and the peak energy fluxes of the bursts. We discuss evidence found for an additional power-law spectral component and the presence of extended emission in a fraction of the KW short GRBs. Finally, we consider the results obtained in the context of the Type I (merger-origin)/Type II (collapsar-origin) classifications.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1999

Gamma-Ray Burst Lines

The evidence for spectral features in gamma-ray bursts is summarized. As a guide for evaluating the evidence, the properties of gamma-ray detectors and the methods of analyzing gamma-ray spectra are reviewed. In the 1980's, observations indicated that absorption features below 100 kev were present in a large fraction of bright gamma-ray bursts. There were also reports of emission features around 400 kev. During the 1990's the situation has become much less clear. A small fraction of bursts observed with BATSE have statistically significant low-energy features, but the reality of the features is suspect because in several cases the data of the BATSE detectors appear to be inconsistent. Furthermore, most of the possible features appear in emission rather than the expected absorption. Analysis of data from other instruments has either not been finalized or has not detected lines.

Briggs, Michael S.↗

NASA NTRS2011

PING Gamma Ray and Neutron Measurements of a Meter-Sized Carbonaceous Asteroid Analog

Determining the elemental composition of carbonaceous (spectral type C) asteroids is still one of the basic problems when studying these objects. The only main source of elemental composition information for asteroids is from their optical, NIR and IR properties, which include their spectral reflectance characteristics, albedo, polarization, and the comparison of optical spectroscopy with meteorite groups corresponding to asteroids of every spectral type. Unfortunately, these sources reflect observations from widely contrasting spatial scales that presently yield a void in the continuum of microscopic and macroscopic evidence, a lack of in situ measurement confirmation, and require deeper sensing techniques to discern the nature of these asteroids. The Probing In situ with Neutrons and Gamma rays (PING) instrument is ideally suited to address this problem because it can be used to determine the bulk elemental composition, H and C content, the average atomic weight and density of the surface and subsurface layers of C-type asteroids, and can provide measurements used to determine the difference between and distinguish between different types of asteroids. We are currently developing the PING instrument that combines gamma ray and neutron detectors with a 14 Me V pulsed neutron generator to determine the in-situ bulk elemental abundances and geochemistry of C-type asteroids with a spatial resolution of 1 m down to depths of tens of cm to 1 m. One aspect of the current work includes experimentally testing and optimizing PING on a known meter-sized Columbia River basalt C-type asteroid analog sample that has a similar composition and the same neutron response as that of a C-type asteroid. An important part of this effort focuses on utilizing timing measurements to isolate gamma rays produced by neutron inelastic scattering, neutron capture and delayed activation processes. Separating the gamma ray spectra by nuclear processes results in higher precision and sensitivity elemental composition measurements. Using gated data acquisition techniques allows for the unambiguous identification of gamma ray lines from different isotopes and nuclear processes, especially in situations when limited detector resolution results in overlapping gamma ray lines that cannot be individually resolved. In this paper, we will present the PING basalt layering experimental data, taken at the test facility at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center using the time tagged event-by-event data analysis technique, compared to our MCNPX computer simulation results for the C-type asteroid and basalt layering simulant models. Comparison of these data will show the advantages, validity, and measurement sensitivity of PING's nuclear interrogation methods to obtain more precise and sensitive in situ bulk elemental composition and density measurements of the subsurface of asteroids.

Bodnarik, J.↗