ERRATUM. In the article. ASSESSMENT OF REFERRING PHYSICIANS AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF RADIATION PROTECTION AND PATIENT EXPOSURE IN DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING by Radmila R. ZERAVICA, Jelena J. SAMAC, Marija V. VUKMIROVIC PAPUGA, Ana J. JAKOVLJEVIC, Dragan V. BURIC, Veljko M. CRNOBRNJA, and Tanja M. SASIC OSTOJIC published in the journal Nuclear Technology & Radiation Protection, 40 (2025), 3, pp. 246-252, the e-mail address of corresponding author was printed inncorrectly. It should be as folows: jelena.samac@mf.uns.ac.rs Editorial Board offers an apology for this mistake to the corresponding author and readers of the Nuclear Technology & Radiation Protection journal. Link to the corrected article 10.2298/NTRP2503246Z
Oil-based mud is one of the primary wastes produced in oil industries that may contain elevated amounts of naturally occurring radioactive material. In this study, MCNPX simulations and gamma-ray spectrometry measurements were combined and a quick and sensitive method was developed for the non-destructive radiological characterization of spent oil-based mud originating from the oil industry by using a 3.81 cm x 3.81 cm LaBr3(Ce) scintillator. By this method, one cubic meter of packaged oil-based mud can be radiologically characterized in less than 20 minutes.
The 1-D computer code MITH was used in this paper to perform sub-channel thermal-hydraulic analyses of a typical (Westinghouse model) pressurized water reactor. Two typical channels, hot and average, with the same flow rate and pressure drop, were tested under steady-state operating conditions. In this analysis, the channel with the highest temperature is designated as the hot channel. For the calculations, the channel model was divided into 20 parts. The thermal-hydraulic performance of the tested reactor was affected by power distribution, power level, and coolant mass-flow rate. Temperature distribution profiles of the fuel element and coolant are obtained for the average and hottest channels. A critical heat flux qncr analysis is also carried out and the heat fluxes in both channels were calculated. The W-3 correlation is employed to examine qncr in the hottest channel. Some data from the pressurized water reactor typical data sheet were used as input data, while others were used to validate the code. The code faithfully reproduced the Westinghouse model reactor results, including coolant, cladding, centerline, and surface fuel temperatures, quality and local heat flux qnloc, qncr and minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio.
Jonathan Walg, Yael Peleg, Anatoly Rodnianski
et al.
Changes in radioactive decay rates due to solar flares have attracted increasing scientific attention in recent decades. In previous studies we demonstrated that solar flares cause changes in the decay rate of 241Am, 222Rn, and 232Th. The change in the count rate of 54Mn due to solar flares, as observed by scholars at Purdue University in 2006, encouraged us to repeat the measurements. In addition, we measured gamma radiation count rates of 57Co that undergoes electron capture, as in 54Mn decay. Our new measurements indicate that there is a delay of about five days between the solar flare occurrence and the decrease in 54Mn count rates. Also, we conclude that in the 54Mn study of 2006 there was a delay between the solar flares and the resulting count rate dips. With regard to the 57Co counting system, we measured about a seven-day delay between the occurrence of solar flares and the count rate dips. We conclude that 54Mn and 57Co interact with neutrinos that originate during solar flares.
In nuclear power plants the design extension conditions are more complex and severe than those postulated as design basis accidents, therefore, they must be taken into account in the safety analyses. In this study, many hypothetical investigated transients are applied on KONVOI pressurized water reactor during a 6 inches (182 cm2) cold leg small break loss-of-coolant-accident to revise the effects of all safety systems ways through their availability/non-availability on the thermal hydraulic behaviour of the reactor. The investigated transients are represented through three cases of small break loss-of-coolant-accident as, Case-1, without scram and all of the safety systems are a failure, Case-2, the normal scram actuation with a failure of all safety systems (non-availability), and finally Case-3, with normal actuation scram sequence and normal sequential actuation of all safety systems (availability). These three investigated transient cases are simulated by creating a model using analysis of thermal-hydraulics of leaks and transient code. In all transient cases, all types of reactivity feed- backs, boron, moderator density, moderator temperature, and fuel temperature are considered. The steady-state results are nearly in agreement with the plant parameters available in previous literature. The results show the importance of the reactivity feedback effects in loss-of-coolant-accident on the fallouts power as they are considered the key parameters for controlling the clad and fuel temperatures to maintain them below their melting point. Moreover, the calculated results in all cases show that the thermal-hydraulic parameters are in acceptable ranges and encounter the safety criterion during loss-of-coolant-accident design extension conditions accidents processes. Furthermore, the results show that the core uncover and fuel heat up do not occur in KONVOI pressurized water reactor the design extension conditions simulations, as all safety systems provide adequate core cooling by sufficient water inventory into the core to cover it.
The stopping cross sections S (E) of silicon for protons and alpha particles have been measured over the velocity range 0.3-1.2 MeV/u from a SIMOX target using the Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) with special emphasis put on experimental aspects. A detection geometry coupling simultaneously two solid-state Si detectors placed at 165 degrees and 150 degrees relative to each side of the incident beam direction was used to measure the energies of the scattered ions and determine their energy losses within the stopping medium. In this way, the basic energy parameter, Ex, at the Si-SiO2 interface for a given incident energy E0 is the same for ions backscattered in the two directions off both the Si and O target elements, and systematic uncertainties in the S (E) data mainly originating from the target thickness are significantly minimized. A powerful computer code has been elaborated for extracting the relevant S (E) experimental data and the associated overall uncertainty that amounts to less than 3%. The measured S (E) data sets were found to be in fair agreement with H. Paul compilation and with values calculated by the SRIM 06 computer code. In the case of 4He+ ions, experimental data for the gamma-effective charge parameter have been deduced via scaling the measured stopping cross sections to those for protons crossing the same target at the same velocity and compared to the predictions of the SRIM 06 code. It is found that the gamma-parameter values generated by the latter code slightly deviate from experiment over the velocity region around the stopping cross section maximum where strong charge exchanges usually occur.
The super multi-functional calculation program for nuclear design and safety evaluation is a general, intelligent, accurate and precise simulation software system for the nuclear design and safety evaluations. The heavy water reactor has a much stronger moderation power and much longer diffusion length of the thermalized neutrons. The paper intends to show the verification and validation of SuperMC3.2 with a heavy-water-moderated lattice named the deuterium critical assembly which is very similar to the Canada Deuterium Uranium type reactor and selected from the international reactor physics experiment evaluation project. The calculation results were compared with the reference calculated results and the experimental data from International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project. The final obtained results proved the accuracy, convenience and universality of SuperMC, and primarily verified the applicability of SuperMC in nuclear analysis of heavy water reactor.
The neutron yield in $^{12}$C(d,n)$^{13}$N and the proton yield in $^{12}C(d,p)^{13}$C have been measured by deuteron beam from 0.6 MeV to 3 MeV which is delivered from a 4-MeV electro static accelerator bombarding on the thick carbon target. The neutrons are detected at $0\degree$, $24\degree$, $48\degree$ and the protons at $135\degree$ in the lab frame. The ratios of the neutron yield to the proton one have been calculated and can be used as an effective probe to pin down the resonances. The resonances are found at 1.4 MeV, 1.7 MeV, 2.5 MeV in $^{12}C(d,p)^{13}$C and at 1.6 MeV, 2.7 MeV in $^{12}$C(d,n)$^{13}$N. This method provides a way to reduce the systematic uncertainty and helps to confirm more resonances in compound nuclei.
Silke Grieser, Daniel Bonaventura, Philipp Brand
et al.
High-performance cluster-jet targets are ideally suited and applied since years in hadron and laser plasma physics. Therefore, the forthcoming MAGIX experiment at the future energy recovering electron accelerator MESA will use a cluster-jet target to perform high precision measurements on electron scattering experiments, i.e., determination of the proton radius. For this purpose, a cluster-jet target was designed, built up and set successfully into operation at the University of Münster considering the requirements of the experimental setup of MAGIX. The details on these requirements, calculations to their realization, e.g., on the nozzle geometry and stagnation conditions of the target gas, their technical implementation and the features of the target which make the target a powerful state-of-the-art target, are highlighted in this publication. Furthermore, the measured and analysed jet beam characteristics from this target using a Mach Zehnder interferometer are presented and discussed. These are of highest interest for the final design of the complete experimental setup of MAGIX. Moreover, first measurements from commissioning beam times performed with the target installed at the already running MAinzer MIkrotron will be presented.
Quark interactions with topological gluon fields in QCD can yield local $\mathcal{P}$ and $\mathcal{CP}$ violations which could explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in our universe. Effects of $\mathcal{P}$ and $\mathcal{CP}$ violations can result in charge separation under a strong magnetic field, a phenomenon called the chiral magnetic effect (CME). Experimental measurements of the CME-induced charge separation in heavy-ion collisions are dominated by physics backgrounds. Major theoretical and experimental efforts have been devoted to eliminating or reducing those backgrounds. We review the current status of these efforts in the search for the CME in heavy-ion collisions.
The experimental setup for examining the low-molecular-weight fluoropolymer CF$_{3}$(CF$_{2})_{3}$-O-CF$_{2}$-O-(CF$_{2})_{3}$CF$_{3}$, which is a promising coating material for the walls of storage chambers for ultracold neutrons, is described. The results are detailed. The measurement data are interpreted in the model of a multilayer complex quantum-mechanical potential of the chamber walls.
I first review the early history of the ultrarelativistic heavy ion program, starting with the 1974 Bear Mountain Workshop, and the 1983 Aurora meeting of the U.S. Nuclear Science Committee, just one billion seconds ago, which laid out the initial science goals of an ultrarelativistic collider. The primary goal, to discover the properties of nuclear matter at the highest energy densities, included finding new states of matter -- the quark-gluon plasma primarily -- and to use collisions to open a new window on related problems of matter in cosmology, neutron stars, supernovae, and elsewhere. To bring out how the study of heavy ions and hot, dense matter in QCD has been fulfilling these goals. I concentrate on a few topics, the phase diagram of matter in QCD, and connections of heavy ion physics to cold atoms, cosmology, and neutron stars.
Results on the production of $^{4}{\textrm{He}}$ and $^{4}\overline{\textrm{He}}$ nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 2.76 $ TeV in the rapidity range $ \mid y \mid < 1$, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be $\mathrm{d}N/\mathrm{d}y _{^{4}\mathrm{He}} = (0.8 \pm 0.4 ~(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.3~(\mathrm{syst}))\times 10^{-6}$ and $\mathrm{d}N/\mathrm{d}y _{^{4}\mathrm{\overline{He}}} = (1.1 \pm 0.4~(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.2~(\mathrm{syst}))\times 10^{-6}$, respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature ($T_{\mathrm{chem}}$ = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of $^{4}\overline{\mathrm{He}}$/$^{4}\mathrm{He}$ is $1.4 \pm 0.8~(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.5~(\mathrm{syst})$.
The thermonuclear $^{19}$F($p$,$α_0$)$^{16}$O reaction rate in a temperature region of 0.007--10 GK has been derived by re-evaluating the available experimental data, together with the low-energy theoretical $R$-matrix extrapolations. Our new rate deviates up to about 30\% compared to the previous ones, although all rates are consistent within the uncertainties. At very low temperature (e.g. 0.01 GK) our reaction rate is about 20\% smaller than the most recently published rate, because of a difference in the low energy extrapolated $S$-factor and a more accurate estimate of the reduced mass entering in the calculation of the reaction rate. At temperatures above $\sim$1 GK, our rate is smaller, for instance, by about 20\% around 1.75 GK, because we have re-evaluated in a meticulous way the previous data (Isoya et al., Nucl. Phys. 7, 116 (1958)). The present interpretation is supported by the direct experimental data. The uncertainties of the present evaluated rate are estimated to be about 20\% in the temperature region below 0.2 GK, which are mainly caused by the lack of low-energy experimental data and the large uncertainties of the existing data. The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star evolves at temperatures below 0.2 GK, where the $^{19}$F($p$,$α$)$^{16}$O reaction may play a very important role. However, the current accuracy of the reaction rate is insufficient to help to describe, in a careful way, for the fluorine overabundances phenomenon observed in AGB stars. Precise cross section (or $S$ factor) data in the low energy region are therefore mandatory for astrophysical nucleosynthesis studies.
Nuclear Astrophysics is a vibrant field at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics that encompasses research in nuclear physics, astrophysics, astronomy, and computational science. This paper is not a review. It is intended to provide an incomplete personal perspective on current trends in nuclear astrophysics and the specific role of nuclear physics in this field.
Gholamreza Moradi, Asghar Sadighzadeh, Rasoul Yarahmadi
et al.
The objectives of this research were to determine the levels of radioactivity in the Tehran research reactor containment and to investigate the mass-size distribution, composition, and concentration of radionuclides during operation of the reactor. A cascade impactor sampler was used to determine the size-activity distributions of radioactive aerosols in each of the sampling stations. Levels of a and b activities were determined based on a counting method using a liquid scintillation counter and smear tests. The total average mass fractions of fine particles (particle diameter dp < 1 mm) in all of the sampling stations were approximately 26.75 %, with the mean and standard deviation of 52.15 ? 19.75 mg/m3. The total average mass fractions of coarse particles were approximately 73.2%, with the mean and standard deviation of 71.34 ? 24.57 mg/m3. In addition to natural radionuclides, artificial radionuclides, such as 24Na, 91Sr, 131I, 133I, 103Ru, 82Br, and 140La, may be released into the reactor containment structure. Maximum activity was associated with accumulation-mode particles with diameters less than 400 nm. The results obtained from liquid scintillation counting suggested that the mean specific activity of alpha particles in fine and coarse-modes were 89.7 % and 10.26 %, respectively. The mean specific activity of beta particles in fine and coarse-modes were 81.15 % and 18.51 %, respectively. A large fraction of the radionuclides' mass concentration in the Tehran research reactor containment was associated with coarse-mode particles, in addition, a large fraction of the activity in the aerosol particles was associated with accumulation-mode particles.