Seminar Series - Areg Danagoulian, Associate Professor, MIT
- Sponsor
- The Program in Arms Control and Domestic and International Security
- Contact
- ACDIS
- acdis@illinois.edu
- Views
- 60
- Originating Calendar
- ACDIS: Arms Control & Domestic and International Security
- "Cosmic Protons as Arms Control Inspectors: Can we detect nuclear weapons in satellites?"Abstract:In 2022 Russia launched the Kosmos 2553 satellite into low Earth orbit at ~2,000 km altitude. US officials raised concerns that this satellite may be a test platform for a nuclear-armed anti-satellite weapon—a potential violation of the Outer Space Treaty that has banned nuclear weapons in space since 1967. The problem: the treaty has never had a verification mechanism. This talk presents a new physics-based approach to this critical gap. At Kosmos 2553's orbital altitude, ~GeV protons trapped in Earth's inner Van Allen radiation belt provide a natural, continuously available interrogation source. We exploit proton-induced spallation in a thermonuclear device's high-Z uranium radiation case to generate characteristic neutron signatures. Our conceptual study shows that an inspector satellite, using a 9U-CubeSat-sized directional neutron detector employing plastic scintillators and CVD diamond veto layers, could detect a thermonuclear warhead from kilometers away. This study informs future verification technologies for space treaty compliance. The talk will cover the physics of Van Allen radiation belt environment, the detection concept of operations, and alternative passive and active detection approaches.
Bio:
Areg Danagoulian is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT.
He did his PhD research in Experimental Nuclear Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Areg’s PhD thesis focused on experiments that used real Compton scattering on the proton at 2-6GeV, allowing to probe the proton’s internal structure and understand how it couples to external excitations. Afther his PhD Areg worked at Los Alamos as a postdoctoral researcher, and then as a senior scientist at Passport Systems, Inc. (PSI). At PSI Areg focused on the development of Prompt Neutron from Photofission (PNPF) technique, which allows to rapicly detect shielded fissionable materials in the commercial cargo traffic. Areg’s current research interests focus on nuclear physics applications in nuclear security, such as areas nuclear nonproliferation, technologies for treaty verification, nuclear safeguards, and cargo security.
Prof. Danagoulian’s research has earned him and his research team a number of important awards, such as: Felllow of the American Physical Society, Arms Control Association’s Arms Control Person(s) of the Year award, 2020, American Nuclear Society Radiation Science and Technology Award, 2019