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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of the sodium and iodine scintillation quenching factors across multiple NaI(Tl) detectors to identify systematics

The amount of light produced by nuclear recoils in scintillating targets is strongly quenched compared to that produced by electrons. A precise understanding of the quenching factor is particularly interesting for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP) searches and coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering ( CE ν NS ) measurements since both rely on nuclear recoils, whereas energy calibrations are more readily accessible from electron recoils. There is a wide variation among the current measurements of the quenching factor in sodium iodide (NaI) crystals, especially below 10 keV, the energy region of interest for dark matter and CE ν NS studies. A better understanding of the quenching factor in NaI(Tl) is of particular interest for resolving the decades-old puzzle in the field of dark matter between the null results of most WIMP searches and the claim for dark matter detection by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration. In this work, we measured sodium and iodine quenching factors for five small NaI(Tl) crystals grown with similar thallium concentrations and growth procedures. Unlike previous experiments, multiple crystals were tested, with measurements made in the same experimental setup to control systematic effects. The quenching factors agree in all crystals we investigated, and both sodium and iodine quenching factors are smaller than those reported by DAMA/LIBRA. The dominant systematic effect was due to the electron equivalent energy calibration originating from the nonproportional behavior of the NaI(Tl) light yield at lower energies, potentially the cause for the discrepancies among the previous measurements. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Muon Neutrino Charged Current Single Pion Production on Various Targets in the MINERvA Detector

Measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters at accelerator-based experiments require precise knowledge of neutrino interaction cross sections. A significant fraction of neutrino interactions observed in these experiments produce single charged pions. While single charged pion production has been measured on hydrocarbon and water, few precise measurements exist for heavier targets, and there are no high statistics measurements that directly compare pion production on different targets. This thesis measures differential cross sections of muon neutrino charged current single charged pion production with no other mesons in the final state in a neutrino beam with a mean energy of $\approx 6$ GeV. The pion production is studied on targets of scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead at MINERvA, a neutrino cross section experiment located in the NuMI beamline at Fermilab. These measured cross sections are differential in $\mu^-$ and $\pi^+$ kinematics. A strong suppression of low $Q^2 $ and an enhancement of low $T_\pi$ are observed relative to commonly used neutrino interaction models in both the light and heavy nuclear targets. Incorporation of these observed effects in future neutrino oscillation experiments will improve their ability to measure energy of neutrino interactions, and therefore measure the parameters governing neutrino oscillations.

Bercellie, Aaron↗
DOE OSTI2022

Muon neutrino charged current single pion production on various targets in the MINERvA detector

Measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters at accelerator-based experiments require precise knowledge of neutrino interaction cross sections. A significant fraction of neutrino interactions observed in these experiments produce single charged pions. While single charged pion production has been measured on hydrocarbon and water, few precise measurements exist for heavier targets, and there are no high statistics measurements that directly compare pion production on different targets. This thesis measures differential cross sections of muon neutrino charged current single charged pion production with no other mesons in the final state in a neutrinobeam with a mean energy of ≈ 6 GeV. The pion production is studied on targets of scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead at MINERvA, a neutrino cross section experiment located in the NuMI beamline at Fermilab. These measured cross sections are differential in μ - and π + kinematics. A strong suppression of low Q 2 and an enhancement of low π are observed relative to commonly used neutrino interaction models in both the light and heavy nuclear targets. Incorporation of these observed effects in future neutrino oscillation experiments will improve their ability to measure energy of neutrino interactions, and therefore measure the parameters governing neutrino oscillations.

Bercellie, Aaron↗
DOE OSTI2026

Pre-Equilibrium De-Excitations for Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is sensitive to MeV-scale energy depositions from low-energy astrophysical neutrinos, including those from core-collapse supernovae. Interpreting these detector signals requires accurate modeling of the nuclear de-excitation that follows from the neutrino-nucleus interaction. The MARLEY (Model of Argon Reaction Low-Energy Yields) event generator specializes in the low-energy regime. MARLEY currently assumes the residual nucleus equilibrates immediately after the primary interaction. This omits the intermediate pre-equilibrium stage in which energy redistributes among nucleons until statistical equilibrium is reached. While pre-equilibrium effects are well established for nucleon-induced reactions, they have not previously been studied for neutrino-nucleus interactions. This work addresses that gap by implementing a two-component exciton model, which is the first dedicated treatment of pre-equilibrium de-excitation for neutrino-nucleus interactions, restructured around MARLEY's existing class hierarchy to prepare for direct integration, including particle-hole state densities, internal transition rates, and pre-equilibrium particle emission. The calculations show encouraging agreement with the TALYS-2.2 nuclear reaction code for neutron-nucleus interactions. We further propose a concrete integration path into the full MARLEY event generator, including derived class structure and an extended event record for pre-equilibrium vertices in support of future reweighting. Remaining work focuses on refining the emission width calculation, adding $\gamma$-ray emission, and completing this integration to quantify the impact of pre-equilibrium effects on the expected low-energy neutrino signals in DUNE and similar experiments.

Visser, Erin [Michigan State U., East Lansing (mai↗
DOE OSTI2020

Review of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Ancillary Thermodynamic Database (TDB) Volume (DRAFT REV. 0)

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Ancillary data volume comprises thermodynamic data of mineral and aqueous species that, in addition to Auxiliary Data (as referred to in previous NEA thermodynamic data volumes), is necessary to calculations of chemical interactions relevant to radioactive waste management and nuclear energy. This SAND report is a review of the NEA Ancillary data critical reviews volume of thermodynamic data parameters. The review given in this report mainly involves data comparison with other thermodynamic data assessments, analysis of thermodynamic parameters, and examination of data sources. Only new and updated data parameters were considered in this review. Overall, no major inconsistencies or errors were found as allowed by the comparisons conducted in this review. Some remarks were noted, for example, on the consideration of relevant studies and/or comparisons on the analysis and retrieval of thermodynamic data parameters not cited in the respective sections.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Benchmarking state-of-the-art theory and empirical models of pionless neutrino-argon scattering in GENIE

Upcoming experiments need improved simulations of neutrino scattering. This work uses the popular GENIE event generator to test a variety of neutrino interaction models against recent MicroBooNE measurements of pionless charged-current interactions. The GENIE code can easily interchange model components, including nucleon form factor parameterizations, quasielastic cross-section calculations, treatments of the nuclear ground state and hadronic final-state interactions. Leveraging this software capability in comparisons with MicroBooNE data, the performance of some of GENIE’s most theoretically sophisticated model components is evaluated and contrasted with more empirically-driven alternatives.

Neutrino cross section↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cold neutron-deuteron capture and Wigner-SU(4) symmetry

We calculate the cold neutron-deuteron (nd) capture cross section,σ nd to next-to-next-to leading order (NNLO) using the model-independent approach of pionless effective-field theory [EFT(π)]. At leading order we find σ nd = 0.314 ± 0.217 mb, while the experimental result is 0.508(15) mb for a laboratory neutron velocity of 2200 m/s. At next-to-leading-order (NLO), we show that σnd is sensitive to the low-energy constant (LEC) $L$$^{(0)}_{1}$ of the two-nucleon isovector current appearing at NLO. A fit of $L$$^{(0)}_{1}$ at NLO to the triton magnetic moment yields a NLO prediction of σ nd = 0.393 ± 0.164 mb, where the error comes from propagating the error from the $L$$^{(0)}_{1}$ fit. At NNLO, we find that a new three-nucleon magnetic moment counterterm is required for renormalization-group invariance of both σnd and the triton magnetic moment. Fitting the NNLO correction to $L$$^{(0)}_{1}$ (denoted $L$$^{(1)}_{1}$) to cold neutron-proton capture (σnp) yields a NNLO prediction of σ nd = 0.447 ± 0.130 mb, where the error comes from propagating the error from the $L$$^{(1)}_{1}$ fit. We also study different fittings of $L$$^{(0)}_{1}$ and $L$$^{(1)}_{1}$ to σ np , σ nd , and/or the triton magnetic moment. For example, fitting $L$$^{(0)}_{1}$ simultaneously to σ np , σ nd , and the triton magnetic moment at NLO, and fitting $L$$^{(1)}_{1}$ simultaneously to σ np and σnd at NNLO, yields σ nd = 0.480 ± 0.114 mb and 0.511 ± 0.042 mb, respectively, where errors are naively estimated from EFT(π) power counting. Additionally, we discuss how Wigner SU(4) symmetry may alter the naive EFT(π) expansion of σ nd .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantum interference in atom-exchange reactions

Chemical reactions, in which bonds break and form, are highly dynamic quantum processes. A fundamental question is whether coherence can be preserved in chemical reactions and then harnessed to generate entangled products. Here we investigated this question by studying the 2KRb → K 2 + Rb 2 reaction at 500 nanokelvins, focusing on the nuclear spin degrees of freedom. We prepared the initial nuclear spins in KRb (potassium-rubidium) in an entangled state by lowering the magnetic field to where the spin-spin interaction dominates and characterized the preserved coherence in nuclear spin wave function after the reaction. We observed an interference pattern that is consistent with full coherence at the end of the reaction, suggesting that entanglement prepared within the reactants could be redistributed through the atom-exchange process.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Affinity of LDR Organics to Cementitious Materials: Sorption and Leaching Tests

SRNL is working to identify and test the physiochemical interactions of organic contaminants of potential concern with minerals in grout/cementitious materials. Organic species may interact with cementitious minerals including slag, fly ash, cement, and other components/dopants like carbon in fly ash. The identification of such interactions will support the solidification process design, performance assessments for the chemicals of concern, and a proposed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) treatment variance the technology-based treatment standard specified for the Land Disposal Restriction (LDR) organics associated with Hanford tank waste. In FY24, a list of the 132 reasonably expected to be present LDR organics associated with Hanford tank waste (RPP-RPT-63493, Rev 1a) was screened by functional groups, octanol-water partitioning coefficients, and detection frequency in Hanford tank waste samples. A subset of 10 compounds spanning the identified properties were tested using sorption and leachate tests. These compounds were subject to traditional batch sorption tests and leaching tests on/from Cast Stone cementitious material with and without activated carbon (a potential organic adsorption additive). The tests have been completed and analysis is underway but as yet currently unavailable. The analytical results (and conclusions) will be included in a forthcoming revision to this report as soon as they are available

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Procedure Parsing: A Method for Parsing Handwritten Documents into Computer-Based Procedures

The nuclear industry is heavily procedure driven, where almost everything has a step-by-step instruction that is expected to be followed in detail. Historically, these procedures were printed on paper copies. Recently, the industry transitioned towards electronic copies (i.e., PDFs on tablets). One major drive for this transition is the introduction of human error and loss of situation awareness when using paper copies. However, electronic copies of documents inherently have the same error traps as their paper cousins. Therefore, there is an increased interest in a way to utilize the information in the step-by-step guidance, but to present it in a dynamic manner that guides the user and adapts to any encountered conditions. Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory propose a flexible, automated method based on document parsing and augmented by natural language processing (NLP) techniques, to address these shortcomings and capitalize on these recent advancements in machine learning. The proposed method provides a cost-effective solution for computer-assisted procedure parsing of hand-written control room procedures, originally authored in Word or PDF formats, into instructions that can be displayed as computer-based procedures (CBP) in a modern graphical user interface. The researchers devised, implemented and demonstrated the Operating Procedure Extender for Novel Systems (OPENS) method in 2020. The key to OPENS is to map the original procedure text into a context-free grammar, tying content to equipment, locations, and other steps, actions, etc. This formal grammar is then used to isolate and define keywords and actions verbs, such as “measure” or “evaluate” and tie them to specific equipment referenced within that step or located in other steps, substeps, actions, subactions and tables throughout the procedure. OPENS generates an abstract syntax tree from the document which it uses to store a copy of this information in the open-standard, machine-readable and human-readable file formats XML and JSON. The XML is useful to preserve the relational aspects of the procedure for referencing tables and branching information so the user can be directed to the next appropriate active step based on the values entered for that step and previous steps. The JSON is useful for storing and exchanging data objects used to track responses to previous steps and state changes in simulated environments. In future iterations, these formats can also be used for storing more detailed information about input during plant operation or simulation. The techniques the researcher developed could further be improved by integration of recent advancements in machine learning. NLP methods could standardize documents, correct for grammatical error, and provide automated semantic validation. The researcher expects that self-supervised techniques applied to collections of natural language instructions could strengthen the model with broader context. All these methods together give us a practical way to automatically extract protocols from documents and user interactions, empowering researchers, procedure writers and nuclear operators while moving the industry forward.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Optimal Control for the Quantum Simulation of Nuclear Dynamics

We propose a method for enacting the unitary time propagation of two interacting neutrons at leading order of chiral effective-field theory by efficiently encoding the nuclear dynamics into a single multilevel quantum device. The emulated output of the quantum simulation shows that, by applying a single gate that draws on the underlying characteristics of the device, it is possible to observe multiple cycles of the nuclear dynamics before the onset of decoherence. Owing to the signal's longevity, we can then extract spectroscopic properties of the simulated nuclear system. This allows us to validate the encoding of the nuclear Hamiltonian and the robustness of the simulation in the presence of quantum-hardware noise by comparing the extracted spectroscopic information to exact calculations. This work paves the way for transformative calculations of the dynamical properties of nuclei on near-term quantum devices.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The B737 MAX 8 Accidents as Operational Experiences With Automation Transparency

Automation transparency has come into prominence in the human-machine systems literature, with researchers offering definitions, models, design frameworks, and empirical findings. However, missing from the literature are reflections on the actual operational experiences of human crews interacting with intelligent automation conceived from multiple transparency perspectives. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 accidents present a tragic case of a catastrophic failure of automation transparency. We explore this case with an emphasis on extracting design and regulatory insights for the nuclear power and other safety-critical domains.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Gas-Phase Stability of Large Lanthanide:Ligand Clusters Evaluated Using Collision-Induced Dissociation

Introduction In the reprocessing of f-elements present in used nuclear fuels, a variety of diglycolamides (DGA’s) are used as extractants for actinide partitioning. In particular, the Actinide-Lanthanide Separation (ALSEP) process typically utilizes either the N,N,N’,N’-tetraoctyl diglycolamide (TODGA) or N,N,N',N'-tetra-2-ethylhexyl diglycolamide (T2EHDGA) extractant ligands following the partitioning of uranium and plutonium from used nuclear fuel. To better understand fundamental interactions in these processes, covalent bonding of several f-elements with diglycolamides, primarily TODGA, is investigated in the gas phase using nanospray ionization and a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Further, analysis of the identity and relative strength of the cluster is enabled by MS2 isolation and collision induced dissociation. Methods Metal ion cluster analysis was completed using a Bruker (Billerica, MA, USA) mircOTOF-Q II quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a CaptiveSpray nanospray ion source. Detection was accomplished using positive ionization mode. Metal: ligand solutions were assembled as 30 µM europium nitrate, samarium nitrate, cerium nitrate, or holmium nitrate and 3 µM DGA in acetonitrile or a 50:50 mixture of acetonitrile: isopropanol. Preliminary data The samarium cluster experiments yielded clusters with a samarium:TODGA ratio of up to 1:7 able to be isolated and evidence of greater ratios present in the mass spectrum. This is surprising, as metal clusters are not expected to have a coordination space able to accommodate this many TODGA ligands, due to its size and tridenticity. Collisional activation of [Sm(TODGA)3]3+ suggested loss of a TODGA radical cation, in addition to ligand fragmentation. In contrast, activation of clusters with higher Sm:TODGA ratios resulted in loss of entire ligands, with no evidence of fragmentation. A lower collision energy was required to remove ligands as the number of bound TODGAs increased, suggesting that in larger clusters, ligands are more delicately complexed to the metal. In addition, several clusters were observed with the composition [Sm(NO3)x(TODGA)n x]+3 x. With a single nitrate ion, clusters with up to six TODGAs were able to be isolated. In a similar pattern to the samarium clusters containing only TODGA, less collision energy was required to eliminate one or more TODGAs with increasing size. Clusters with composition [Sm(NO3)(TODGA)n-1]2+ appeared in lower abundance and were more collisionally stable than [Sm(TODGA)n]3+ clusters. With two nitrate ions, only clusters with a single TODGA were able to be isolated. Analogous europium experiments resulted in similar clusters. Ratios of up to 1:7 Eu:TODGA and clusters with one nitrate and up to five TODGAs were isolated. In clusters with two nitrate ions, only one or two TODGAs were observed to be bound. Similar to samarium, MS2 experiments with the Eu clusters suggested that larger clusters required less collision energy to eliminate TODGA. Europium clusters with the composition [Eu(NO3)(TODGA)n-1]2+ were observed in greater abundance and with greater stability than the equivalent cluster with the composition [Eu(TODGA)n]3+. Novel Aspect These are the first reported Ln:TODGA clusters, allowing us to begin to investigate intrinsic complexation of lanthanides with process-relevant ligands.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Detection and Calibration of Low-Energy Nuclear Recoils for Dark Matter and Neutrino Scattering Experiments

Detection of low-energy nuclear recoil events plays a central role in searches for particle dark matter interactions with atomic matter and studies of coherent neutrino scatters. Precise nuclear recoil calibration data allow the responses of these dark matter and neutrino detectors to be characterized and enable in situ evaluation of an experiment's sensitivity to anticipated signals. This article reviews the common methods for detection of nuclear recoil events and the wide variety of techniques that have been developed to calibrate detector response to nuclear recoils. We summarize the main experimental factors that are critical for accurate nuclear recoil calibrations, investigate mitigation strategies for different backgrounds and biases, and discuss how the presentation of calibration results can facilitate comparison between experiments. Lastly, we discuss the challenges for future nuclear recoil calibration efforts and the physics opportunities they may enable.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantum Devices for Neutrino and Rare Particle Detection (Final Report)

This report summarizes the technical work completed under the DOE-QuanISED program. This grant allowed the MIT group --and associated groups on the project, including UMass Amherst and Argonne National Laboratory -- to explore the use of superconducting bolometers for the purpose of neutrino and low mass dark matter detection. These low threshold bolometric detection techniques have wide applicability in nuclear and particle physics, including searching for low mass weakly-interacting dark matter; detecting neutrinos via coherent neutrino scattering; searching for axions and nuclear non-proliferation. In addition, we explored how using techniques readily used by the quantum computing community–such as multiplexed microwave resonators and quantum amplifiers—could be used as a low noise readout scheme for an array of superconducting detectors. We briefly summarized the accomplishments under the project, and what future research directions have spawned from this research.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of the mass-changing, charge-changing, and production cross sections of 11 C, 11 B, and 10 B nuclei in 12 C + p interactions at 13.5 GeV/𝑐 per nucleon

A good knowledge of nuclear fragmentation cross sections is important to interpret the fluxes of secondary cosmic rays from the Galaxy. Here we report new measurements of nuclear fragmentation with the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS. The specific focus is on cross sections important for the production of boron in the Galaxy from the interactions of 12 C nuclei with hydrogen in the interstellar medium, including the contribution from the decay of the short-lived 11 C fragments. The data were taken with the secondary 12 C beam at beam momentum of 13.5 GeV/𝑐per nucleon and two fixed targets, polyethylene (CH 2 ) and graphite (C), from which we derive the cross sections of carbon on hydrogen. We present the measurement of the fragmentation cross sections of 11 C, 11 B, and 10 B as well as the mass- and charge-changing cross sections.

nuclear fragmentation↗
DOE OSTI2025

Seismic response of vertical dry storage casks under three-dimensional earthquake motions

Ensuring the long-term seismic safety of dry storage casks (DSCs) is becoming increasingly critical as these systems evolve from temporary to de facto permanent repositories for spent nuclear fuels. Traditional seismic soil–structure interaction (SSI) assessment methods use one-dimensional deconvolution or simplified boundary conditions to model incident waves. Although computationally appealing, simplifying assumptions may alter the seismic risk by neglecting the full complexity of three-dimensional (3D) wave propagation effects. To address this challenge, this paper introduces a novel high-fidelity computational framework that leverages the Domain Reduction Method (DRM) with perfectly matched layers (PML) to accurately transfer complex, 3D seismic wavefields from regional-scale fault-rupture simulations into local-scale finite element models of DSCs. Using broadband, physics-based ground motions from a generic M w 7.0 strike-slip event, both single-cask and multi-cask configurations were investigated under near- and far-field conditions. Emphasis is placed on capturing complex SSI, spatial variability in the ground motion, and nonlinear phenomena such as cask rocking and sliding. Numerical results demonstrate that near-field conditions, where forward directivity and fling-step effects dominate, lead to significantly higher DSC rocking and sliding. Far-field cases, by contrast, generally exhibit modest responses. Incorporating SSI tends to amplify or alter DSC response spectra and introduce response variability, which underscores the need for site-specific evaluations and robust modeling approaches to ensure the seismic integrity of DSCs in interim spent fuel storage installations.

Das, Tonmoy↗