用掺钆水切伦科夫探测器观测中子
Observation of Neutrons with a Gadolinium Doped Water Cerenkov Detector
摘要：
特殊核材料（SNM）如235 U和239 Pu的自发和诱导裂变导致中子和高能γ射线的发射。这些粒子的多重性和它们之间的时间相关性都是裂变材料存在的有力指标。因此，对这些特征敏感的探测器可用于核材料的监测、搜索和定性。在这篇文章中，我们证明了高能量的伽马射线和中子与水切伦科夫为基础的探测器的灵敏度。探测器介质中的电子，被伽马射线相互作用散射，通过它们的切伦科夫光发射来探测。通过向水中添加低浓度的钆化合物来增强对中子的灵敏度。切伦科夫光类似地由钆上的中子捕获后的8 MeV伽马射线级联产生。这种检测方法的大立体角覆盖和高固有效率可以用单个设备提供鲁棒且低成本的中子和伽马射线检测。
英文摘要：
Spontaneous and induced fission in Special Nuclear Material (SNM) such as 235U and 239Pu results in the emission of neutrons and high energy gamma-rays. The multiplicities of and time correlations between these particles are both powerful indicators of the presence of fissile material. Detectors sensitive to these signatures are consequently useful for nuclear material monitoring, search, and characterization. In this article, we demonstrate sensitivity to both high energy gamma-rays and neutrons with a water Cerenkov based detector. Electrons in the detector medium, scattered by gamma-ray interactions, are detected by their Cerenkov light emission. Sensitivity to neutrons is enhanced by the addition of a gadolinium compound to the water in low concentrations. Cerenkov light is similarly produced by an 8 MeV gamma-ray cascade following neutron capture on the gadolinium. The large solid angle coverage and high intrinsic efficiency of this detection approach can provide robust and low cost neutron and gamma-ray detection with a single device.
机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来，可能存在错误，请以论文正文为准。
