Gamma-ray Measurements Research Articles

The AGATA Spectrometer

The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) is a European project to develop and operate a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer. AGATA is based on the technique of gamma-ray energy tracking in electrically segmented high-purity germanium crystals. The tracking technique requires the accurate determination of the energy, time and position of every interaction as a gamma ray deposits its energy within the detector volume. AGATA can measure gamma rays from 10’s of keV to 10 MeV with excellent efficiency and position resolution and has a very high count rate capability. The realisation of AGATA and gamma-ray tracking is a result of many technical advances. AGATA has operated in a series of successful scientific campaigns at Legnaro National Laboratory in Italy, GSI in Germany and GANIL in France. AGATA is now in its next phase of development as it evolves to the full 4π instrument. It is presently starting its next campaign at Legnaro.

Development of a real-time mobile gamma-ray measurement system for shipboard use

Large areas must be rapidly screened to monitor radiation in marine environments. For this purpose, this study developed a mobile real-time gamma-ray measurement system for shipboard use and evaluated its performance. The system was developed to measure engine or generator cooling water by installing a canister inside the ship. The minimum detectable activity of the system is about 0.8 Bq/L for a 60 s measurement period, and real-time data transmission and remote control are possible. The system was tested in the field and is currently being installed and operated on ships in service. Such a ship-based real-time gamma-radiation measurement system is suitable for a wide range of marine radiation surveillance applications and is expected to be rapidly deployed.

Design and optimization of thermal neutron activation device based on 5 MeV electron linear accelerator

The optimized design of a Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) system, including Delayed Gamma NAA (DGNAA) and Prompt Gamma NAA (PGNAA), has been proposed in this research based on Mevex Linac with 5 MeV electron energy and 50 kW power as a neutron source. Based on the MCNPX 2.6 simulation, the optimized configuration contains; tungsten as an electron-photon converter, BeO as a photoneutron target, BeD2 and plexiglass as moderators, and graphite as a reflector and collimator, as well as lead as a gamma shield. The obtained thermal neutron flux at the beam port is equal to 2.06×109(#/cm2.s).In addition, using the optimized neutron beam, the detection limit has been calculated for some elements such as H-1, B-10, Na-23, Al-27, and Ti-48. The HPGe Coaxial detector has been used to measure gamma rays emitted by nuclides in the sample. By the results, the proposed system can be an appropriate solution to measure the concentration and toxicity of elements in different samples such as food, soil, and plant samples.

Evolution of Casedhole Nuclear Surveillance Logging Through Time

Nuclear logging techniques have played a critical role in the evaluation and surveillance of hydrocarbon reservoirs since the introduction of the gamma ray log in 1939. This paper reviews the history of key developments in nuclear logging that led to improved methods to identify gas-oil (GOC), gas-water (GWC), and oil-water (OWC) contacts in steel-cased wells, as well as methods to identify gas, steam, and waterflood front encroachment, calculate their saturations, and recognize problems in efficient reservoir depletion. This paper will focus solely on nuclear methods used to directly identify fluids behind pipe using natural gamma radiation, neutron-induced gamma radiation, and neutron flux measurements. This includes gamma ray, spectral gamma ray, single- and dual-detector neutron measurements, pulsed-neutron capture, (), and pulsed-neutron spectroscopy (carbon/oxygen or C/O) methods. It will not cover other methods of identifying fluids behind pipe, such as borehole gravity and deep electromagnetic (EM) methods using wired pipe. It also will not cover indirect methods to infer fluid types in reservoirs, such as nuclear production logging using gamma density and pulsed-neutron measurements.

AGATA: Nuclear structure advancements with high-energy gamma rays

High-energy gamma rays are emitted either in the decay of nuclear discrete states (generally located in the proximity of the particle-emission threshold) or in the electromagnetic decay of collective states. The branching ratio is rather small, therefore in alternative/coincidence with high-energy gamma rays one could have neutron or charged-particle emission. The precise measurement of these branching ratios allows a more comprehensive description of the nucleus and, in particular, the selection of the nuclear models which better describes the interplay between the different acting forces and couplings. In the case of the electromagnetic decay of collective states, the precise identification of the populated low-lying states allows the measurement of their wave-function and/or of their ‘bulk’ properties. This information provides, also in this case, a stringent test for the nuclear models. In both cases, to compensate these small branching ratio, a large number of detectors and an accurate selection of a small region of the phase space are needed. AGATA is considered to constitute an optimal array for this kind of measurements. In fact, AGATA, because of its high granularity and its excellent energy resolution, can detect the high-energy gamma rays emitted in a specific decay path or associated to specific reaction channels, shapes, deformations. In the introduction, some details on the measurement of high-energy gamma rays using HPGe detector are discussed. The sections of this paper focus on the measurements of high-energy gamma rays to obtain the photon strength function, the nuclear level density and to identify extreme shapes in highly excited nuclei.

Uranium migration and radioactive characteristics of the Sarıçiçek and Sarıhan Granodiorites

The radionuclide concentrations of eU (ppm), eTh (ppm), K (%) and dose rate values were measured in Sarıçiçek (Gümüşhane) and Sarıhan (Bayburt) granodiorites for a duration of 5 minutes at each of 532 measurement points. The radioelement ratios (eU/eTh, eU/K, and eTh/K) indicating the origins of the rocks, the geochemical indicators (Ume, F parameter, and eU-(eTh/3,5) rate) showing the uranium mobility and the radioelement concentrations were calculated and mapped within the study areas. The average K, eU, and eTh concentrations were calculated as 2.98%, 3.15 ppm, and 12.45 ppm for Sarıçiçek granodiorite, and 1.83%, 2.73 ppm, and 13.6 ppm for Sarıhan granodiorite, respectively. Higher radioactivity values were observed in basaltic, sedimentary, and ultramafic rock combinations within the granodiorite masses. In the classification according to radioelement ratios, it was concluded that the rocks in the study areas formed as a mixture of upper mantle and crustal materials. In both study areas, there was uranium transport from the granodioritic masses into the surrounding rocks, and accordingly, the rocks in the surrounding formations were enriched in uranium. As a result, radioactivity levels, rock formation origins, and uranium transport of both granodioritic masses and rocks in the surrounding formations were determined by evaluation with radioelement concentration values and ratios and migration parameters. The study areas were characterized by associating them with geology in light of radioactive data.

Response control of RPLGD for gamma-ray dose measurement using lead filters for BNCT

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a cell-selective radiotherapy using a neutron capture reaction of 10B. In recent years, Accelerator Based Neutron Sources (ABNS) are under development instead of nuclear reactors for the next-generation neutron irradiation system for BNCT. However, ABNS as well as nuclear reactor usually generates unavoidable secondary gamma-rays by neutron-nuclear reactions such as capture reaction. In this research, we aimed to develop a separate measurement method of only gamma-rays in a mixed field of neutrons and gamma-rays using a fluorescent glass dosimeter (RPLGD), because most dosimeters have sensitivity to both radiation types. For this purpose, we proposed a lead filter method using two RPLGDs and lead filters. However, this method has a problem that the sensitivity to low energy gamma-rays (∼100 keV) is very small. In order to improve the sensitivity to low energy gamma-rays, we devised a method using a specially shaped lead filter. From theoretical calculations, we have shown that it was possible to estimate the air dose rate of the field where the gamma-ray energy spectrum shape was known for energies up to 10 MeV. In addition, we produced the specially shaped lead filter and experimentally confirmed the validity of the lead filter method using several gamma-ray standard sources and by measurements in a nuclear fuel storage room.

Advances in nuclear structure via charged particle reactions with AGATA

In recent decades, gamma -ray spectroscopy has undergone a major technological leap forward, namely the technique of gamma -ray tracking, and has attained a sensitivity that is two orders of magnitude larger than that provided by the former generation of Compton-shielded arrays. Indeed the gain is comparable with the achievements since the dawn of gamma -ray spectroscopy. Such sensitivity can be further heightened by coupling gamma -ray spectrometers to other detectors that record complementary reaction products such as light-charged particles for transfer reactions and scattered ions for Coulomb excitation measurements. Nucleon transfer reactions offer an excellent mean to probe the energies of shell model single-particle orbitals and to study migration in energy of these orbitals as we venture away from stability. Such measurements can also estimate the cross sections of processes relevant to stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis. The measurement of gamma rays in coincidence with particles provides also information on the decay channel for unbound systems, which constitutes a useful input for astrophysics and nuclear structure near the drip-lines. Coulomb-excitation studies make it possible to infer collective structure in nuclei and to extract deformation properties of, in particular, open-shell systems. Here, selected examples will be presented, highlighting the power of these types of experiments when gamma -ray observation is included. The development of the experimental methods is reviewed, showing the results achieved before the advent of gamma -ray tracking. Examples of more recent experiments that have successfully exploited gamma -ray tracking with AGATA are then presented as showcases for the outstanding performance of the composite detection systems. The outlook for experiments using newly developed devices such as GRIT and other detectors such as SPIDER is described.

Photofission delayed gamma-ray measurements in a large cemented radioactive waste drum during LINAC irradiation

Nuclear materials characterization in 870 L cemented waste drums is challenging due to significant neutron and gamma ray attenuation. Among the existing non-destructive approaches, photon active interrogation is of particular interest. A LINAC accelerates electrons to energies greater than 10 MeV, leading to highly penetrating interrogating bremsstrahlung photons that can reach nuclear materials in the depth of the 870 L waste drum and allow the detection of delayed gamma rays emitted by photofission products. Because the interrogating photon and neutron fluxes are extremely high during irradiation, measurements with high purity germanium detectors are usually performed after a long irradiation time, for example by moving the detector or the waste drum. Therefore, such measurements are only sensitive to delayed gamma rays associated to photofission products having sufficient long half-life of at least tens of seconds, which cuts a valuable signal coming from fission products with a shorter half-life. In this paper, we report gamma rays measurements of very short lived photofission products using a 3 in × 3 in cylindrical LaBr3(Ce) fast scintillation detector. A depleted uranium sample was irradiated by a pulsed bremsstrahlung source with maximum energy 17.5 MeV in a macro pulsing mode (1 s irradiation, 2 s cooling). This allowed to acquire a strong delayed gamma signal within a time window of 2 s.A clear signature of nuclear materials was observed even in the depth of a concrete mock-up, with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio beyond 3.5 MeV where the background of nonnuclear activated materials is negligible. These results are compared to a semi analytical model that qualitatively agrees but underestimates the measurements by a constant factor 1.7, probably caused by a wrong beam intensity normalization. Indeed, in this work the LINAC pulse time structure (macro pulsing) was different from its nominal working point used to characterize the beam (usual pulsing mode). Since it allows direct calculations of the detector response to delayed gamma-ray photofission measurements, this model is a fast calculation alternative to time-consuming Monte Carlo simulations, in view of further studies that will follow this feasibility demonstration.

Gamma-ray measurements for inertial confinement fusion applications

High-energy γ rays generated from inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments have become an important signature for studying the dynamics of implosion processes. Due to their high-energy and penetrating nature, γ rays are the most unperturbed fusion products, which can preserve the original birth information of the fusion process. Fusion γ rays provide a direct measure of nuclear reaction rates (unlike x rays) without being compromised by Doppler spreading (unlike neutrons). However, unambiguous γ-ray measurements for ICF study further required a decade-long period of technological development, which included a deepening understanding of fusion γ-ray characteristics and innovations in instrument performance. This review article introduces the production mechanism of the prompt and secondary γ rays and various ICF performance parameters (e.g., bang time and burn width), which can be derived from γ-ray measurement. A technical overview will be followed by summarizing γ-ray detectors fielded or proposed, especially for high-yield ICF experiments at the Omega Laser Facility and National Ignition Facility. Over the past few years, γ-ray diagnostic technologies have been extended beyond ICF research. A few examples of non-ICF applications of γ-ray detectors are introduced at the end of this article.

The Impact of Clay Minerals on the Porosity Distribution of Clastic Reservoirs: A Case Study from the Labuan Island, Malaysia

Clay mineral content and diagenetic processes are vital factors that affect reservoir quality, especially in tight clastic reservoirs, which are crucial for industrial and scientific purposes. The presence of clay minerals poses one of the most significant challenges in evaluating sandstone reservoirs’ quality. Even though wireline logs may provide a good indication of the reservoir quality, there have been cases where they have failed. This work focuses on the clay minerals’ impact on the porosity and permeability of a clastic reservoir. Typical outcrops from Labuan Island, Brunei–Sabah Basin, were chosen as a case study to investigate the petrophysical and petrographic parameters together with clay mineralogy profiling. The effects of the clays on the petrophysical parameters of the sandstone reservoir were evaluated through air permeability, spectral gamma ray measurements, a petrographic thin section analysis, a visual porosity estimation, and a grain size analysis. Field and petrographic studies revealed that Belait and Temburong formations contain massive, interbedded, laminated, and cross-bedded sandstones. Using an image analysis of the thin sections, porosity values ranged from 7.3% to 23.5%, with different macro and micro porosity distributions. According to the spectral gamma-ray investigation and air permeability, permeability reduction is strongly associated with clay minerals. The microporosity and permeability of the analyzed samples showed a unique pattern influenced by the grain size distribution. It was found that the textures dominated by mud grain size had a more significant impact on the air permeability and visual porosity, with coefficient of determination values of 0.83 and 0.70, respectively. The Belait Formation displayed a higher porosity and permeability compared to the Temburong Formation. This research provides new insight into the potential reservoir of Stage IV (the Belait Formation offshore equivalent) compared to Stage II (the Temburong Formation offshore equivalent).

Effects of Ce2O3 on multi-component borovanadate glass structural, optical, and attenuation characteristics

The fast quenching technique has been used to prepare some mixed-alkali-lead borovanadate glasses doped with different amounts of Ce2O3 (in grams). The structural, optical, and shielding properties of the prepared samples have been characterized based on the X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetric, UV–vis, and gamma ray measurements. The amorphous nature of all prepared samples was confirmed by the X-ray patterns and differential scanning calorimetric thermograms, which both showed only broad humps, a single glass transition temperature, and two crystallization points for every sample. The glass's transition temperature, micro-hardness, and optical gaps decreased when the Ce2O3 content increased, while the glass's thermal stability, bulk density, poisson's ratio, linear susceptibility, nonlinear susceptibility, optical conductivity, electric conductivity, and relaxation time all increased. It is found that the gamma photon and fast neutron shielding properties of borovanadate glass are altered by the addition of Ce2O3. Where the increase in Ce2O3 content caused a slight increase in the value of the mass attenuation coefficient and a reduction in the MFP value. Finally, the presence of Ce2O3 improves the glass's capacity to absorb fast neutrons.

Design of pedestrian radiation portal monitor with NaIL dual-particle detector

Radiation portal monitors (RPMs) are operated in various places such as airports, ports, and nuclear facilities to detect radioactive materials illegally possessed by pedestrians. However, most commercial RPMs can measure only gamma-rays; hence, separate neutron detectors need to be applied when neutron measurement is required. Radioactive materials including special nuclear materials (SNMs) have a high gamma-ray emission rate, but they can be concealed because gamma-rays are easily shielded. By contrast, although SNMs have a low neutron emission rate, it is difficult to shield them due to secondary radiation emission when neutrons are captured. Additionally, neutron-emitting materials can be easily detected due to the low background level of neutrons. So, measurement of both gamma-rays and neutrons is beneficial for improved detection probability of radioactive materials (i.e., SNMs). In the present study, by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, we designed a dual-particle detection system incorporating NaIL scintillators for application as a pedestrian RPM that can detect neutrons and gamma-rays simultaneously. The simulation model was verified by experiments with a 2 inch × 2 inch cylindrical NaIL detector using gamma-ray and neutron calibration sources. The designed system is expected to offer improved detection performance over that of a commercial system, even with its smaller dimensions.

A new multimessenger study of Starburst galaxies: a closer look to expecting neutrinos

Considering the high star formation rate (up to 100 M⊙/year) of starburst galaxies (SBGs), they are well posed between the guaranteed “factories” of high energy neutrinos, since they can contain accelerated cosmic rays in the central region where the high-density gas is present. A more accurate description of their possible hadronic emission could help to better explain the diffuse astrophysical flux measured by IceCube as well as the observed point-like excess, like the case of NGC1068. With this in mind we report here a multi-messenger study, looking at diffuse and resolved gamma-ray and neutrino measurements, that explain the very-high-energy (VHE) emission through a calorimetric scenario. For the analysis of the diffuse component we perform a blending of the available spectral indexes and produce a multi-component study of extragalactic background light (EGB), high energy starting events (HESE) and high-energy cascade IceCube data. In contrast to common prototype scenarios, the spectral index blending leads to a non negligible diffuse neutrino component from SBGs, accounting up to 40% of the HESE events, at 95.4% CL. This scenario privileges also a maximal energy within tens of PeV for the accelerated charge particles inside these galaxies. For the point-like study we report the proposed calorimetric description for the gamma-ray resolved SBGs within 100 Mpc, taking into account the star formation rate derived from their infrared emission. These neutrino expectations are then compared with the sensitivity of IceCube, IceCube/Gen2 and the incoming KM3NeT.

Research on Gamma Spectroscopy System While Drilling Based on DSP and FPGA

The traditional gamma energy spectrum measurement system performs filtering, shaping, amplification, baseline recovery, stacking discrimination, peak hold, and low-speed ADC sampling on the pulse signal output by the gamma-ray detector. It generates energy spectrum curves. There are problems such as large dead time and pulse signal accumulation. A high-speed digital processing chip (FPGA) and a high-speed ADC are used to perform full pulse sampling on the amplified ray pulses directly. The high-speed digital processing chip (DSP) directly realizes the pulse signal recognition, which remarkably improves the efficiency of signal acquisition and is very suitable for developing the drill gamma spectroscopy system. Scholars have studied the pulse digital Gaussian shaping algorithm and the trapezoidal shaping algorithm in gamma-spectroscopy while drilling to explore this phenomenon. In this case, a gamma-ray spectrum measurement while drilling system based on DSP and FPGA is designed. It realizes the functions of full-pulse high-speed sampling and energy spectrum curve generation for the narrow pulse signal input to the detector. It also converts the energy spectrum curve. It is transmitted to the host computer through the serial port for energy spectrum analysis.

Density, Thermal Expansion, Enthalpy, Heat Capacity, and Thermal Conductivity of Calcium in the Temperature Range 720–1290 K

Thermophysical properties of solid and liquid calcium (99.75 wt % pure) were experimentally studied with high accuracy in the temperature range 720–1290 K using dilatometer measurements, gamma-ray attenuation measurements (the gamma-ray method), high-temperature drop calorimetry, and the laser flash method. The behaviors of the density, enthalpy, and thermal conductivity of calcium in the fusion–crystallization region were studied. The enthalpy of fusion was measured as 8075 J/mol, the relative density change upon fusion as 3.3%, and the relative change in thermal conductivity upon fusion as 26%. The results were compared to the respective values in the related literature. The measurements at temperatures above 720 K either significantly amend the available literature data, or are currently unique. The constancy of the heat capacity of liquid calcium in the temperature range 1115–1290 K was verified. Fitting equations were derived, and recommended values of the investigated properties of calcium were tabulated for 720–1290 K, the temperature range where calcium is in the condensed state.

High-dose rate detection system for gamma and X radiation using scattered gamma rays

Recent developments in the field of ultra-high intensity gamma sources have led to a renewed interest in detection of pulsed gamma radiation. This paper thus proposed a scintillation detector system based on scattered gamma rays by using the tungsten target. System design parameters were investigated with Monte Carlo simulation and verified by 60Co/137Cs radiation experiments. The results showed that the system can raise the upper limit of gamma intensity detection by 4–5 orders. Signal-to-noise ratio of the system was studied in the 60Co radiation experiments. These findings suggested that this system is a suitable alternative for future needs for ultra-intense gamma-ray measurements.

Conceptual design of DIII-D experiments to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel

In magnetic fusion experiments, the cross sections for the D-T and D-3He fusion reactions are increased by as much as 50% if the fuel remains spin polarized parallel to the magnetic field. The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of lifetime measurements of spin polarization, in magnetic fusion relevant conditions, on the DIII-D tokamak using relative changes in charged fusion product (CFP) loss measurements that depend upon the differential fusion cross section dσ/dΩ. Relative measurements that capture changes in the escaping CFP pitch, poloidal, and energy distributions are studied in two realistic TRANSP calculated plasma scenarios: (a) vector-polarized 3He and D pellets are injected into a hot hydrogen plasma to produce thermonuclear reactions, and (b) a tensor-polarized deuterium pellet is injected into an L-mode hydrogen background plasma that includes unpolarized 3He neutral beam injection. Ideal CFP signals in both scenarios show substantial pitch sensitivity to polarization for 14.7 MeV proton detection at a poloidal angle of (on the outer wall in the ion direction), and strong sensitivity to polarization for 3.6 MeV alpha flux detection by an array of poloidal detectors. Energy-resolved measurements of 14.7 MeV protons are also sensitive to the degree of polarization for the port in the beam-plasma scenario. A realistic assessment of CFP signals in the thermonuclear scenario show count rates in the range of cps for pitch-resolved proton detection and cps for alpha flux measurements. Reduced chi-squared calculations show polarization lifetime measurements are feasible for either proton or alpha detection of both enhanced or suppressed polarization for the thermonuclear scenario. Measurements of gamma rays produced in the weak branch complement the CFP measurements.

Cosmogenic radionuclides in the Cavezzo meteorite: Gamma-ray measurement and detection efficiency simulations

The Cavezzo meteorite was recovered on January 4th, 2020, just three days after the fall observed over Northern Italy by the all-sky cameras of the Italian PRISMA fireball network. Two specimens, weighing 3.1 g (F1) and 52.2 g (F2), were collected in the predicted strewn-field and the meteorite has been classified as an L5 anomalous chondrite. The gamma-activity of the F2 sample was measured at the Monte dei Cappuccini underground Research Station (Torino, Italy) with a large-volume HPGe-NaI(Tl) spectrometer. Thanks to the high efficiency, selectivity, and low background of the spectrometer, we were able to detect fifteen cosmogenic radioisotopes. The presence of nuclides with half-lives down to a few days (47Ca, 52Mn, and 48V) undoubtedly confirmed the recent fall of the sample. The very low activity of 44Ti and 60Co was revealed with a particular coincidence between the HPGe and NaI(Tl) detectors. To obtain the detection efficiency, we have simulated the response of the detector with the GEANT4 toolkit, once the spectrometer’s dead layer thickness was estimated using standards of known activity. Moreover, the simulation of the Dhajala meteorite (H3/4 chondrite) measurement allowed us to verify that the self-absorption of the sample is correctly taken into account and validate our simulations. In this contribution, we focus on the coincidence optimization techniques and the detection efficiency computation.

Conceptual design of a GEM (gas electron multiplier) based gas Cherenkov detector for measurement of 17MeV gamma rays from T(D, γ)5He in magnetic confinement fusion plasmas.

The only method for assessing the fusion power throughput of a deuterium-tritium (DT) reactor presently relies on determining the absolute number of 14MeV neutrons produced in the DT plasma. An independent method, developed and investigated during the recent DT campaign at the Joint European Torus, is based on the absolute counting of 17MeV gamma rays produced by the competing T(D, γ)5He reaction that features a very weak branching ratio (about 3-6 × 10-6) when compared to the main T(D,n)4He reaction. The state-of-the-art spectrometer used for gamma-ray measurements in magnetic confinement fusion plasmas is LaBr3(Ce) scintillator detectors, although they require significant neutron shielding to extract a relatively weak gamma-ray signal from a much more abundant neutron field. A better approach relies on a gamma-ray detector that is intrinsically insensitive to neutrons. We have advanced the design of a gamma-ray counter based on the Cherenkov effect for gamma-rays whose energy exceeds 11MeV, optimized to work in the neutron-rich environment of a steady-state, magnetically confined fusion plasma device. The gamma-rays interact with an aluminum window and extract electrons that move into the radiator emitting photons via the Cherenkov effect. Since the Cherenkov light consists of few photons (25 on average) in the far UV band (100-200nm), a pre-amplifier is required to transport the photons to the neutron-shielded location, which may be a few meters away, where the readout elements of the detector, either a silicon or standard photomultiplier tube, are placed. The present work focuses on the development of a scintillating GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) based pre-amplifier that acts as a Cherenkov photon pre-amplifier and wavelength shifter. This paper presents the result of a set of Garfield++ simulations developed to find the optimal GEM working parameters. A photon gain of 100 is obtained by biasing a single GEM foil to 1kV.