Finding Trafficked Radiological Materials via Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering

TL;DR

This study explores the feasibility of using coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) detectors to detect trafficked radiological materials, finding it effective mainly for high-activity cesium-137 sources under ideal conditions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a feasibility framework for using CEνNS detectors in nuclear security, specifically for detecting trafficked radiological isotopes like cesium-137.

Findings

CEνNS can detect high-activity $^{137}$Cs sources.

Detection is not feasible for other common isotopes at low activities.

Framework can be adapted for nuclear security applications.

Abstract

The potential to use neutrinos for nuclear non-proliferation has been heavily debated due to the tension between production abundance and low interaction rate. A newly detected neutrino interaction channel, coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS), could potentially end this debate due to its improved cross-section compared to other neutrino interactions. This paper presents a feasibility study for the use of CE$\nu$NS superconducting detectors to find trafficked radiological materials. To do this, we calculated the minimal activity required for situational detection under ideal conditions, without background, at 95% confidence level. This analysis was performed for four commonly smuggled radioisotopes: $^{137}$Cs, $^{109}$Cd, $^{192}$Ir, and $^{57}$Co. Using these results, we conclude that CE$\nu$NS could be used to discover trafficked $^{137}$Cs sources with an activity above the PBq level, but that it is not applicable for finding other radioactive sources. This framework can also be applied to other nuclear security concerns, such as safeguarding generation IV nuclear reactors.