Nataly R. Panczyk | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Learning to Resolve Neutron Resonances with Fully Convolutional Neural Networks

This work investigates the feasibility of augmenting traditional R-Matrix codes with a robust machine learning framework for automatically detecting neutron resonances in transmission spectra. Neutron transmission data are often complex and noisy, making them difficult to analyze using traditional peak-identification methods. The state-of-the-art R-Matrix codes currently used by physicists to fit these data often depend on prior evaluations and require substantial manual effort. This preliminary study demonstrates a method for accelerating the post-experimental processing of neutron transmission data and reducing bias associated with dependence on prior evaluations. We employ a fully convolutional neural network to classify individual points as belonging to resonance or non-resonance regions in seven transmission spectra---two evaluated and five experimental. Although the model achieves classification accuracies in the range of 93\%, further analysis shows that this metric overstates its ability to generalize. Building on our prior analysis in PHYSOR 2026, we find that, despite the inclusion of additional training data, the method does not generalize reliably to previously unseen isotopes. To address these limitations, future work should evaluate whether a larger and more diverse training dataset can produce a generalizable model and should incorporate known physical characteristics of neutron resonances to improve model performance.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Opening the Black-Box: Symbolic Regression with Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks for Energy Applications

While most modern machine learning methods offer speed and accuracy, few promise interpretability or explainability -- two key features necessary for highly sensitive industries, like medicine, finance, and engineering. Using eight datasets representative of one especially sensitive industry, nuclear power, this work compares a traditional feedforward neural network (FNN) to a Kolmogorov-Arnold Network (KAN). We consider not only model performance and accuracy, but also interpretability through model architecture and explainability through a post-hoc SHAP analysis. In terms of accuracy, we find KANs and FNNs comparable across all datasets, when output dimensionality is limited. KANs, which transform into symbolic equations after training, yield perfectly interpretable models while FNNs remain black-boxes. Finally, using the post-hoc explainability results from Kernel SHAP, we find that KANs learn real, physical relations from experimental data, while FNNs simply produce statistically accurate results. Overall, this analysis finds KANs a promising alternative to traditional machine learning methods, particularly in applications requiring both accuracy and comprehensibility.

cs.LG↗