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arXiv · 2512.10044

Identifying Neutron Sources using Recoil and Time-of-Flight Spectroscopy

David Breitenmoser·Ricardo Lopez·Shaun D. Clarke·Sara A. Pozzi
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Abstract

Neutron-source identification is central to nuclear physics and its applications, from planetary science to nuclear security, yet direct source discrimination from measured neutron spectra remains fundamentally elusive. Here, we introduce a Bayesian protocol that directly infers source ensembles from measured neutron spectra by combining full-spectrum template matching with probabilistic evidence evaluation. Applying this protocol to recoil and time-of-flight spectroscopy, we recover single- and two-source configurations with strong statistical significance ($>\!\!4\sigma$) at event counts as low as $\sim\!\!10^{3}$. These results demonstrate that neutron spectral signatures can be leveraged for robust source identification, opening a new observational window for both fundamental research and operationally driven applications.

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David Breitenmoser, Ricardo Lopez, Shaun D. Clarke, Sara A. Pozzi. 2025-12-10. Identifying Neutron Sources using Recoil and Time-of-Flight Spectroscopy. https://doi.org/10.1103/v6j6-f4rx

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