Quantifying radionuclide signatures from a γ-γ coincidence system

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Analytical Chemistry
• Radiation Detection

Background:

• Identifying trace radioactive materials requires sensitive detection methods.
• Traditional methods may lack the speed and accuracy for complex gamma-gamma coincidence analysis.
• Digital electronics and list-mode acquisition offer advanced capabilities for event timing and data processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a method for quantifying gamma coincidence signatures.
• To create a software package for automated calculation of cascade probabilities.
• To enhance the identification of trace radioactive materials using a high-efficiency multi-detector system.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a high-efficiency multi-detector gamma-gamma (γ-γ) system with fully digital electronics and list-mode acquisition.
• Developed a software package to calculate efficiency and cascade summing corrected branching ratios using ENSDF data.
• Automated the creation and updating of a searchable coincidence library.

Main Results:

• Successfully quantified gamma coincidence signatures.
• The software package accurately calculates cascade emission and detection probabilities.
• Validated results using measurements on the γ-γ system for investigated nuclides.

Conclusions:

• The developed method and software provide accurate quantification of coincidence signatures.
• The approach is flexible, relying on evaluated nuclear data and efficiency characterization.
• This method enables rapid and easy calculation of coincidence signature probabilities for diverse applications.