Nuclear disarmament verification based on (n,γ) reaction using physical encryption technology

Abstract

To reduce the risk of leaking confidential information in nuclear arms control, we propose a new arms control inspection concept based on neutron activation analysis, in conjunction with physical shielding technology to distort the energy and propagation path of the outgoing particles in the physical domain. The reliability and security of this authentication concept are demonstrated using Monte Carlo simulations. It turns out that the concept can readily identify isotope cheats and two typical geometric cheats without revealing sensitive information about the inspected items.