Colloquium
Last Updated November 14, 2023
The upcoming colloquium is shown below. The current schedule for the remainder of the semester can be seen here. Previous abstracts of colloquiums from this semester will be archived in the future.
When there's a colloquium, meet the speaker and have coffee & snacks at 3:30 pm in
Workman 312, then attend the talk at 4 pm in Workman 101! You can also attend via
Zoom (the meeting ID is 922 7877 4516, and the passcode is 521185).
Studies of Nuclear Detonation Forensics using MeV Electron Beams
Speaker: Dan Dale (Idaho State University)
November 16, 2023 @ 4pm
Workman Center, Room 101
Abstract: In this talk, I will outline current work in the area of nuclear detonation forensics using MeV electron beams. In regards to nuclear weapons, nuclear forensics falls into three broad categories—pre-donation forensics, prompt diagnostic signatures, and post-detonation forensics. I will discuss work in the latter two areas. In particular, I will discuss studies of the UV flash generated by a nuclear detonation, the so-called Teller light, in the complex environments which may occur in a terrorist attack. The approach here will be to use MeV electron beams as surrogates for recoiling Compton electrons in the atmosphere involving fission gamma rays from the detonation. In a post-detonation scenario, MeV electron beams also provide a tool to study bomb debris. I will outline current efforts to perform both fundamental physics measurements and trace element analysis on nuclides produced in a nuclear event. One of the primary goals of these measurements is to shed light on the characteristics of the explosion, and ultimately provide attribution.