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Abstract:
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Radioactive xenon gas is a fission product released in the detonation of nuclear devices that can be detected in atmospheric samples far from the detonation site . In order to improve the capabilities of radioxenon detection systems , this work produces [beta -gamma] coincidence spectra of individual isotopes of radioxenon . Previous methods of radioxenon production consisted of the removal of mixed isotope samples of radioxenon gas released from fission of contained fissile materials such as ²³⁵U . In order to produce individual samples of the gas , isotopically enriched stable xenon gas is irradiated with neutrons . The detection of the individual isotopes is also modeled using Monte Carlo simulations to produce spectra . The experiment shows that samples of [superscript 131m]Xe , ¹³³Xe , and ¹³⁵Xe with a purity greater than 99 % can be produced , and that a sample of [superscript 133m]Xe can be produced with a relatively low amount of ¹³³Xe background . These spectra are compared to models and used as essential library data for the Spectral Deconvolution Analysis Tool (SDAT ) to analyze atmospheric samples of radioxenon for evidence of nuclear events . |