Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme

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AGA: Arbeitsgruppe Physik und Abrüstung

AGA 8: Verification

AGA 8.1: Talk

Friday, March 20, 2026, 09:30–10:00, KH 00.016

Mimicking Nuclear Warhead Signatures via Shielding of Radioactive Material — •Emma Lucke¹, Christopher Fichtlscherer², and Moritz Kütt^1,3 — ¹Hamburg Nuclear Disarmament Laboratory, University of Hamburg — ²Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — ³Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University

On the road toward reliable gamma spectroscopy-based warhead confirmation systems, ensuring signature uniqueness remains a challenge. If signatures are not unique, this vulnerability could be exploited by presenting hoax objects in place of actual warheads, thereby cheating procedures during nuclear dismantlement. In our previous work we established that combinations of shielded radioactive isotopes can produce gamma emission signatures indistinguishable from those of actual nuclear warheads. However, it remains unclear whether shielded isotope emissions actually offer any advantages over unshielded ones. In addition, earlier results suggest that some shielding configurations may be more effective than others. Our new work focuses on investigating these aspects. We expand the set of considered isotopes to include all long-lived candidates potentially applicable to cheating, which requires new OpenMC shielding simulations at higher photon energies. Additionally, the set of theoretical warhead models is broadened to incorporate further signatures. In a subsequent systematic search for hoax objects within this expanded space, we explore the role of shielding effects in constructing hoax objects that are capable of deceiving gamma spectroscopy based warhead confirmation systems.

Keywords: Gamma Spectroscopy; Nuclear Warhead Confirmation; Nuclear Disarmament