Meson bunches formed by pulsed laser-induced processes in ultra-dense hydrogen H(0)

Ultra-dense hydrogen H(0) (reviewed in Holmlid and Zeiner-Gundersen, Physica Scripta 2019 ) consists of small strongly bound molecules with interatomic distance of 0.56 pm in spin state s = 1. It is a useful nuclear fuel for energy generation, giving heat above break-even (Holmlid, AIP Advances 2015) in laser-induced processes (Holmlid, Int. J. Hydr. Energy 2021). Nuclear processes in H(0) emit particles in typical meson decay chains with kinetic energy up to 100 MeV. These mesons decay and generate fast muons at up to 500 MeV energy at current densities of several mA cm-2 at 1–2 m distances, which corresponds to 1013 -1014 muons formed per laser pulse. It is shown that the mesons decay in chain processes with well-defined meson time constants in the range 10–60 ns. The time varying signals from H(0) agree well with mesons M in decay chains as A ◊ M ◊ N where N is a signal muon. M may be a charged kaon K± (decay time constant at rest 12.4 ns) or a charged pion π± (decay time constant at rest 26 ns) or a long-lived neutral kaon \({\text{K}}_{L}^{0}\) (decay time constant at rest 51 ns). Ultra-dense protium p(0) gives the same time constants as D(0) but slightly different decay-chains. The meson bunches observed are similar to the meson bunches from nucleon + antinucleon annihilation. The energy gain in the nuclear process is at least 8000, strongly indicating baryon annihilation for which process further evidence is given in other recent publications.

Security-integrated nuclear process access control

The intent of this thesis research is to develop a concept/methodology to advance technologies for controls of network accesses to the industrial processes of safety/operation-critical and to contribute to the nuclear process control modernization with improved nuclear operation security and consequently increased nuclear safety and cost savings. This thesis is focused on the security-integrated nuclear process network-access controls for modernizing nuclear operations. This thesis research commenced with assessments of the current states of nuclear processes in the live nuclear generating stations and identified improvements on the current nuclear practices and security concerns of using the network-based intelligent features of modern process controls for nuclear operations. This thesis has created SNP - Security-integrated Nuclear Process, OBAC - Operation Based Access Control, NOAA - Nuclear Operation Access Authentication, CSM - Cost Savings Model, etc. as the fundamental developments for contributions to the nuclear operations modernization with improved operation security and subsequently increased nuclear safety and cost savings in daily nuclear operations. The SNP is to transform the current nuclear practices into network-based nuclear operations that include equipment performance monitoring, nuclear data processing, nuclear equipment control and maintenance. The OBAC is an operation-based access control built upon the core nuclear operations and facilitates the security and quality controls of network accesses to nuclear operations. The NOAA is to provide user security authentication for access to nuclear operation network, which is composed of APP for access pre-access authentication and AQP for access qualification authentication. The CSM is designed for evaluations of the SNP and associated designs in terms of cost savings opportunity. The feasibility and practicality of these new designs are illustrated in the thesis, by analytical and numerical methods. The significance of these new designs is tremendous, resulting in potentially significant cost savings in daily nuclear generation, in addition with increased nuclear operation network security and subsequently the nuclear safety that is priceless.

Security-integrated nuclear process access control

The intent of this thesis research is to develop a concept/methodology to advance technologies for controls of network accesses to the industrial processes of safety/operation-critical and to contribute to the nuclear process control modernization with improved nuclear operation security and consequently increased nuclear safety and cost savings. This thesis is focused on the security-integrated nuclear process network-access controls for modernizing nuclear operations. This thesis research commenced with assessments of the current states of nuclear processes in the live nuclear generating stations and identified improvements on the current nuclear practices and security concerns of using the network-based intelligent features of modern process controls for nuclear operations. This thesis has created SNP - Security-integrated Nuclear Process, OBAC - Operation Based Access Control, NOAA - Nuclear Operation Access Authentication, CSM - Cost Savings Model, etc. as the fundamental developments for contributions to the nuclear operations modernization with improved operation security and subsequently increased nuclear safety and cost savings in daily nuclear operations. The SNP is to transform the current nuclear practices into network-based nuclear operations that include equipment performance monitoring, nuclear data processing, nuclear equipment control and maintenance. The OBAC is an operation-based access control built upon the core nuclear operations and facilitates the security and quality controls of network accesses to nuclear operations. The NOAA is to provide user security authentication for access to nuclear operation network, which is composed of APP for access pre-access authentication and AQP for access qualification authentication. The CSM is designed for evaluations of the SNP and associated designs in terms of cost savings opportunity. The feasibility and practicality of these new designs are illustrated in the thesis, by analytical and numerical methods. The significance of these new designs is tremendous, resulting in potentially significant cost savings in daily nuclear generation, in addition with increased nuclear operation network security and subsequently the nuclear safety that is priceless.

Secure trilateral access control for network-integrated nuclear operation and condition-based nuclear maintenance

The intent of this thesis research is to develop a new methodology to improve existing nuclear process in an efficient, precise, and cost-effective way. This thesis presents three new designs: Secure Trilateral Access Control (STAC), Network-Integrated Nuclear Operation (NINO), and network-driven Condition-Based Nuclear Maintenance (CBNM). STAC design has three tiers: Tier-1 ensures security controls of external accesses to the new nuclear network. Tier-2 ensures qualification controls for carrying nuclear operations. Tier-3 ensures qualification controls for nuclear maintenances. NINO design is to increase efficiency of conducting nuclear operations and ensure correctness of executing targeted operations. CBNM design is to increase efficiency and cost savings for conducting nuclear maintenance and schedule maintenance based on equipment conditions to avoid extremely expensive forced outages. Feasibility and practicality of these new designs are illustrated analytically and numerically in the thesis. The significance of these designs is tremendous, resulting in huge nuclear operation cost savings.

Secure trilateral access control for network-integrated nuclear operation and condition-based nuclear maintenance

The intent of this thesis research is to develop a new methodology to improve existing nuclear process in an efficient, precise, and cost-effective way. This thesis presents three new designs: Secure Trilateral Access Control (STAC), Network-Integrated Nuclear Operation (NINO), and network-driven Condition-Based Nuclear Maintenance (CBNM). STAC design has three tiers: Tier-1 ensures security controls of external accesses to the new nuclear network. Tier-2 ensures qualification controls for carrying nuclear operations. Tier-3 ensures qualification controls for nuclear maintenances. NINO design is to increase efficiency of conducting nuclear operations and ensure correctness of executing targeted operations. CBNM design is to increase efficiency and cost savings for conducting nuclear maintenance and schedule maintenance based on equipment conditions to avoid extremely expensive forced outages. Feasibility and practicality of these new designs are illustrated analytically and numerically in the thesis. The significance of these designs is tremendous, resulting in huge nuclear operation cost savings.

What Is Matter According to Particle Physics, and Why Try to Observe Its Creation in a Lab?

The standard model of elementary interactions has long qualified as a theory of matter, in which the postulated conservation laws (one baryonic and three leptonic) acquire theoretical meaning. However, recent observations of lepton number violations—neutrino oscillations—demonstrate its incompleteness. We discuss why these considerations suggest the correctness of Ettore Majorana’s ideas on the nature of neutrino mass and add further interest to the search for an ultra-rare nuclear process in which two particles of matter (electrons) are created, commonly called neutrinoless double beta decay. The approach of the discussion is mainly historical, and its character is introductory. Some technical considerations, which highlight the usefulness of Majorana’s representation of gamma matrices, are presented in the appendix.

Sensitivity of the NEXT experiment to Xe-124 double electron capture

Double electron capture by proton-rich nuclei is a second-order nuclear process analogous to double beta decay. Despite their similarities, the decay signature is quite different, potentially providing a new channel to measure the hypothesized neutrinoless mode of these decays. The Standard-Model-allowed two-neutrino double electron capture (2νEC EC) has been predicted for a number of isotopes, but only observed in 78Kr, 130Ba and, recently, 124Xe. The sensitivity to this decay establishes a benchmark for the ultimate experimental goal, namely the potential to discover also the lepton-number-violating neutrinoless version of this process, 0νEC EC. Here we report on the current sensitivity of the NEXT-White detector to 124Xe 2νEC EC and on the extrapolation to NEXT-100. Using simulated data for the 2νEC EC signal and real data from NEXT-White operated with 124Xe-depleted gas as background, we define an optimal event selection that maximizes the NEXT-White sensitivity. We estimate that, for NEXT-100 operated with xenon gas isotopically enriched with 1 kg of 124Xe and for a 5-year run, a sensitivity to the 2νEC EC half-life of 6 × 1022 y (at 90% confidence level) or better can be reached.

Cosmogenic Activation in Double Beta Decay Experiments

Double beta decay is a very rare nuclear process and, therefore, experiments intended to detect it must be operated deep underground and in ultra-low background conditions. Long-lived radioisotopes produced by the previous exposure of materials to cosmic rays on the Earth’s surface or even underground can become problematic for the required sensitivity. Here, the studies developed to quantify and reduce the activation yields in detectors and materials used in the set-up of these experiments will be reviewed, considering target materials like germanium, tellurium and xenon together with other ones commonly used like copper, lead, stainless steel or argon. Calculations following very different approaches and measurements from irradiation experiments using beams or directly cosmic rays will be considered for relevant radioisotopes. The effect of cosmogenic activation in present and future double beta decay projects based on different types of detectors will be analyzed too.

Neutrinoless double beta decay overview

Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay is a hypothesised nuclear process in which two neutrons simultaneously decay into protons with no neutrino emission. The prized observation of this decay would point to the existence of a process that violates a fundamental symmetry of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, and would allow to establish the nature of neutrinos. Today, the lower limits on the half-life of this process exceed 10^{25}25-10^{26}26 yr. I will review the current status of the searches for Double Beta Decay and the perspectives to enhance the experimental sensitivity in the next years.