Sensing Fissile Materials at Long Range

Abstract : Rapid and accurate sensing of fissile materials at long range may require GeV muon or multi-GeV proton primary beams at intensities beyond present technological limits, and in configurations that are robust, simple and transportable. The simultaneous achievement of milliampere proton intensities at multiple GeV energies in a single stage accelerator has never been achieved for any accelerator type, and no basic science or applied application requires it. Hence the science of WMD Sensing and Recognition requires primary particle accelerators with properties beyond their traditional basic and applied science counterparts. Recent progress that we have made with compact, single stage high field cyclotrons, when coupled with significant prior historical work on energetic proton cyclotrons, which have already achieved a 1 GeV final energy and 1.6 mA extracted current, provide the necessary basis to carefully set the ultimate limits for GeV class, compact intense beam proton cyclotrons to provide primary beams for long range WMD Sensing.