A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances
Arms control treaties are necessary to reduce the large stockpiles of the nuclear weapons that constitute one of the biggest dangers to the world. However, an impactful treaty hinges on effective inspection exercises to verify the participants’ compliance to the treaty terms. Such procedures would r...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2020
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125198 |
| _version_ | 1826209209509740544 |
|---|---|
| author | Engel, Ezra M. Danagoulian, Areg |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Engel, Ezra M. Danagoulian, Areg |
| author_sort | Engel, Ezra M. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Arms control treaties are necessary to reduce the large stockpiles of the nuclear weapons that constitute one of the biggest dangers to the world. However, an impactful treaty hinges on effective inspection exercises to verify the participants’ compliance to the treaty terms. Such procedures would require verification of the authenticity of a warhead undergoing dismantlement. Previously proposed solutions lacked the combination of isotopic sensitivity and information security. Here we present the experimental feasibility proof of a technique that uses neutron induced nuclear resonances and is sensitive to the combination of isotopics and geometry. The information is physically encrypted to prevent the leakage of sensitive information. Our approach can significantly increase the trustworthiness of future arms control treaties while expanding their scope to include the verified dismantlement of nuclear warheads themselves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:19:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/125198 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:19:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1251982022-09-29T08:40:30Z A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances Engel, Ezra M. Danagoulian, Areg Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Arms control treaties are necessary to reduce the large stockpiles of the nuclear weapons that constitute one of the biggest dangers to the world. However, an impactful treaty hinges on effective inspection exercises to verify the participants’ compliance to the treaty terms. Such procedures would require verification of the authenticity of a warhead undergoing dismantlement. Previously proposed solutions lacked the combination of isotopic sensitivity and information security. Here we present the experimental feasibility proof of a technique that uses neutron induced nuclear resonances and is sensitive to the combination of isotopics and geometry. The information is physically encrypted to prevent the leakage of sensitive information. Our approach can significantly increase the trustworthiness of future arms control treaties while expanding their scope to include the verified dismantlement of nuclear warheads themselves. United States. National Nuclear Security Administration (Award DE-NA0002534) 2020-05-12T20:56:44Z 2020-05-12T20:56:44Z 2019-09 2020-01-23T13:51:08Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2041-1723 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125198 Engel, Ezra M. and Areg Danagoulian. “A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances.” Nature Communications 10 (2019): 4433 © 2019 The Author(s) en 10.1038/s41467-019-12386-0 Nature Communications Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Springer Science and Business Media LLC Nature |
| spellingShingle | Engel, Ezra M. Danagoulian, Areg A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| title | A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| title_full | A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| title_fullStr | A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| title_full_unstemmed | A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| title_short | A physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| title_sort | physically cryptographic warhead verification system using neutron induced nuclear resonances |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125198 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT engelezram aphysicallycryptographicwarheadverificationsystemusingneutroninducednuclearresonances AT danagoulianareg aphysicallycryptographicwarheadverificationsystemusingneutroninducednuclearresonances AT engelezram physicallycryptographicwarheadverificationsystemusingneutroninducednuclearresonances AT danagoulianareg physicallycryptographicwarheadverificationsystemusingneutroninducednuclearresonances |