Atmospheric ionizations by solar X-rays, solar protons, and radiation belt electrons in September 2017 space weather event

Murase, Kiyoka*; Kataoka, Ryuho*; Nishiyama, Takanori*; Sato, Kaoru*; Tsutsumi, Masaki*; Tanaka, Yoshimasa*; Ogawa, Yasunobu*; Sato, Tatsuhiko

Space Weather, 21(12), p.e2023SW003651_1 - e2023SW003651_11, 2023/12

https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003651

Comprehensive understandings of their global impact on the atmosphere require whole pictures of spatio-temporal distributions of the ionization due to them. We estimate the altitude profiles of the ionization rate during the space weather event occurred in September 2017 by using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) with input of the particle fluxes obtained by satellites. The estimates are then compared with measurements of the ionization altitude, ionization intensity, and electron density by the radars in the polar region such as the PANSY radar at Syowa Station and the EISCAT in Tromso, Norway. We conclude that the PHITS simulation results reproduce those ionizations measured by ground-based instruments with inputs of observed ionization sources by satellites within a factor of 2.

First observation of O

Kondo, Yosuke*; Achouri, N. L.*; Al Falou, H.*; Atar, L.*; Aumann, T.*; Baba, Hidetada*; Boretzky, K.*; Caesar, C.*; Calvet, D.*; Chae, H.*; et al.

Nature, 620(7976), p.965 - 970, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06352-6

no abstracts in English

Study on chemical interaction between UO and Zr at precisely controlled high temperatures

Shirasu, Noriko; Sato, Takumi; Suzuki, Akihiro*; Nagae, Yuji; Kurata, Masaki

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(6), p.697 - 714, 2023/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2138602

Interaction tests between UO and Zr were performed at precisely controlled high temperatures between 1840 and 2000 C to understand the interaction mechanism in detail. A Zr rod was inserted in a UO crucible and then heat-treated at a fixed temperature in Ar-gas flow for 10 min. After heating in the range of 1890 to 1930 C, the Zr rod was deformed to a round shape, in which the post-analysis detected the significant diffusion of U into the Zr region and the formation of a dominant -Zr(O) matrix and a small amount of U-Zr-O precipitates. The abrupt progress of liquefaction was observed in the sample heated at around 1940 C or higher. The higher oxygen concentration in the -Zr(O) matrix suppressed the liquefaction progress, due to the variation in the equilibrium state. The U-Zr-O melt formation progressed by the selective dissolution of Zr from the matrix, and the selective diffusion of U could occur via the U-Zr-O melt.

Multiple mechanisms in proton-induced nucleon removal at 100 MeV/nucleon

Pohl, T.*; Sun, Y. L.*; Obertelli, A.*; Lee, J.*; Gmez-Ramos, M.*; Ogata, Kazuyuki*; Yoshida, Kazuki; Cai, B. S.*; Yuan, C. X.*; Brown, B. A.*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 130(17), p.172501_1 - 172501_8, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.172501

We report on the first proton-induced single proton- and neutron-removal reactions from the neutron deficient O nucleus with large Fermi-surface asymmetry at 100 MeV/nucleon. Our results provide the first quantitative contributions of multiple reaction mechanisms including the quasifree knockout, inelastic scattering, and nucleon transfer processes. It is shown that the inelastic scattering and nucleon transfer, usually neglected at such energy regime, contribute about 50% and 30% to the loosely bound proton and deeply bound neutron removal, respectively.

Thermodynamic analysis for solidification path of simulated ex-vessel corium

Sato, Takumi; Nagae, Yuji; Kurata, Masaki; Quaini, A.*; Guneau, C.*

CALPHAD; Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry, 79, p.102481_1 - 102481_11, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.calphad.2022.102481

Radiation monitoring using manned helicopter around the Nuclear Power Station in the fiscal year 2020 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Ishizaki, Azusa; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Sato, Kazuhiko*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Kikuchi, Hikaru*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2021-029, 132 Pages, 2022/02

JAEA-Technology-2021-029.pdf:24.58MB

By the nuclear disaster of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the following tsunami on March 11, 2011, a large amount of radioactive material was released from the FDNPS. After the nuclear disaster, airborne radiation monitoring using manned helicopter has been conducted around FDNPS. The results of the airborne radiation monitoring and the evaluation for temporal change of dose rate in the fiscal 2020 were summarized in this report. Analysis considering topographical effects was applied to the result of the airborne monitoring to improve the accuracy of conventional method. In addition, technique for discriminating gamma rays from the ground and those from the airborne Rn-progenies was also utilized to evaluate their effect on airborne radiation monitoring.

Synthesis of a Si-Al gel as a starting material of aluminosilicate solids

Sato, Junya; Shiota, Kenji*; Takaoka, Masaki*

Zairyo, 70(5), p.406 - 411, 2021/05

https://doi.org/10.2472/jsms.70.406

An aluminosilicate solid is an inorganic material that has the property of immobilizing heavy metals or radionuclides in the matrix. In this study, aluminosilicates with a Si/Al molar ratio of 0.5 was synthesized from a chemical reagent in order to produce aluminosilicate solids with a low Si/Al molar ratio, which were expected to improve the immobilization of heavy metals and radionuclides contained in the matrix. The synthesized Si-Al gel with a Si/Al molar ratio of 0.5 had little impurity content and was in an amorphous phase. In addition, the compressive strength of the aluminosilicate solid produced by the synthesized Si-Al gel showed a 5 MPa or more, confirming that it can be used as a raw material for aluminosilicate solids. The aluminosilicate solid with a Si/Al molar ratio of 1.25 had a dense surface structure from the result of BSE images and had the highest compressive strength among all samples.

Quasifree neutron knockout reaction reveals a small -Orbital component in the Borromean nucleus B

Yang, Z. H.*; Kubota, Yuki*; Corsi, A.*; Yoshida, Kazuki; Sun, X.-X.*; Li, J. G.*; Kimura, Masaaki*; Michel, N.*; Ogata, Kazuyuki*; Yuan, C. X.*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 126(8), p.082501_1 - 082501_8, 2021/02

AA2020-0819.pdf:1.29MB

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.082501

A quasifree (,) experiment was performed to study the structure of the Borromean nucleus B, which had long been considered to have a neutron halo. By analyzing the momentum distributions and exclusive cross sections, we obtained the spectroscopic factors for and orbitals, and a surprisingly small percentage of 9(2)% was determined for . Our finding of such a small component and the halo features reported in prior experiments can be explained by the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum, revealing a definite but not dominant neutron halo in B. The present work gives the smallest - or -orbital component among known nuclei exhibiting halo features and implies that the dominant occupation of or orbitals is not a prerequisite for the occurrence of a neutron halo.

Insight into Kondo screening in the intermediate-valence compound SmOsSb uncovered by soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism

Saito, Yuji; Fujiwara, Hidenori*; Yasui, Akira*; Kadono, Toshiharu*; Sugawara, Hitoshi*; Kikuchi, Daisuke*; Sato, Hideyuki*; Suga, Shigemasa*; Yamasaki, Atsushi*; Sekiyama, Akira*; et al.

Physical Review B, 102(16), p.165152_1 - 165152_8, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.165152

New research programme of JAEA/CLADS to reduce the knowledge gaps revealed after an accident at Fukushima-1; Introduction of boiling water reactor mock-up assembly degradation test programme

Pshenichnikov, A.; Kurata, Masaki; Bottomley, D.; Sato, Ikken; Nagae, Yuji; Yamazaki, Saishun

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(4), p.370 - 379, 2020/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2019.1691070