A possible novel method in nuclear forensics: positron annihilation spectroscopy

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) is a non-destructive technique used mostly in material science for studying open spaces/free volumes in materials. In this work, several different nuclear materials originating from the nuclear fuel cycle or round-robin exercises are analyzed by PAS. Our goal was, as for a first test of applicability, to check whether the technique is potentially suitable in a nuclear forensic examination for origin assessment of nuclear materials in order to support investigation. The results, presented below are promising and can certainly be further improved by analyzing larger sets of samples.