中子辐照法在炸药来源认证中的应用

Application of Neutron Irradiation Method in Source Authentication of Explosive

核弹头的拆卸认证是核裁军和军控核查中的一项重要研究内容。核弹头拆卸后,核查方将对拆卸出的特殊核材料和高爆炸药进行探测和认证,确保两者来源于核弹头。本文着重研究铀弹头(基于武器级铀的核弹头)内部拆卸出的炸药的认证方法,提出基于中子辐照法的炸药认证方案,并建立基于Geant4软件的数值模拟计算平台,利用该平台对该方案的可行性和效果进行模拟计算研究。研究结果表明,核查方应单方面设定辐照时间,设置适当的核弹头拆卸时间,并探测拆卸出的炸药中13 N和11 C核素的β+衰变,即可区分真实铀弹头中拆卸出的炸药和炸药赝品,进而为判断炸药是否来源于铀弹头提供重要依据。

The dismantlement authentication of nuclear warhead is an important study in the field of nuclear disarmament and arms control verification.After the dismantlement of the nuclear warhead,the dismantled special nuclear material(SNM)and high explosive(HE)should be detected and authenticated by the verification team to ensure the SNM and HE from the nuclear warhead.In this paper,the authentication method of the explosive dismantled from WgU warhead(nuclear warhead with weapons-grade uranium core)was studied,and an authentication method based on the neutron irradiation was proposed.A numerical simulation platform based on the Geant4 software was established and used to study the feasibility and effect of the method.The results show that the verification team should set the irradiation time unilaterally,and set proper dismantlement time of the WgU warhead.By detecting theβ+decay of 13 N and 11 C of the dismantled explosive,the explosive dismantled from the real WgU warhead and the fake explosive can be discriminated,which furthermore provides the important evidence for judging whether the explosive is mantled from the WgU warhead.