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A concept model of a measurement station for gamma-ray spectroscopy for safeguards verification of spent fuel from the future MYRRHA facility has been developed using MCNP6.2. The measurement station consists of a collimator and a lanthanum bromide detector which are placed adjacent to a cylindrical container with the fuel assembly submerged in lead–bismuth eutectic for cooling. The total count rate as well as the peak-area uncertainties for several gamma-ray peaks have been studied for a number of measurement geometries to determine the optimal collimator dimensions and assess how the performance depends on the lead–bismuth container geometry. Finally, the contribution from each fuel pin in the assembly to the detected signal has been determined as a function of gamma-ray energy to determine if the inner parts of the fuel assembly can be assayed with gamma-ray measurements. The results show that the dimensions of the lead–bismuth container will have a considerable effect on both the total count rate and the peak-area uncertainties, but that gamma-ray spectroscopy could be used for verification of spent fuel from MYRRHA.

The paper describes a data library containing material composition of spent nuclear fuel. The data is extracted from burnup and depletion calculations with the Serpent2 code. The simulations were done with a PWR fuel pin cell geometry, for both initial UO2 and MOX fuel load for a wide range of initial enrichments (IE) or initial plutonium content (IPC), discharge burnup (BU) and cooling time (CT). The fuel library contains the atomic density of 279 nuclides (fission products and actinides), the total spontaneous fission rate, total photon emission rate, activity and decay heat at 789,406 different BU, CT, IE configurations for UO2 fuel and at 531,991 different BU, CT, IPC configurations for MOX fuel. The fuel library is organized in a publicly available comma separated value file, thus its further analysis is possible and simple.

The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) is a safeguards instrument available to international nuclear safeguards inspectors. It is frequently used to verify fuel on the gross defect level, and approved for partial defect verification, i.e. to assess that parts of a fuel assembly have not been diverted. The current limit for partial defect verification with the DCVD is on the 50% level. In the verification process, an analysis methodology is used where the inspector places a Region-Of-Interest (ROI) around the fuel assembly and assesses the total Cherenkov light intensity within this region. The intensity is then compared to a predicted value, and deviations from the predicted value are used to flag fuel assemblies for further investigations. In this work, we investigate a slightly different analysis approach, where the ROI is split into two or three segments to more accurately capture changes in light intensity in different regions of the captured image. The purpose is to increase the sensitivity of the DCVD to partial defects below the 50% level. Based on simulations of a Pressurised Water Reactor 17x17 fuel assembly, we conclude that a partial defect on the 30% level decreases the Cherenkov light intensity by at least 15% using one single ROI, by at least 20% using a ROI with two segments, and by at least 22% using a ROI with three segments. The analysis approach using two or three ROI segments instead of one thus appears to be more sensitive to partial defects, and can enable more accurate detection of partial defects on the 50% level as well as partial defect detection below the 50% level. Validation of the approach using a limited set of measurement data of intact fuel assemblies supports that detection of light intensity reductions by 20% and 22% is possible, while ensuring that the false positive rate is kept sufficiently low. However, an optimization of ROI segment splits as well as a more extended validation of the approach is required before the method can be considered reliable and applicable to all fuel assemblies that the DCVD can verify today.

In addition to verifying operator declared parameters of spent nuclear fuel, the ability to experimentally infer such parameters with a minimum of intrusiveness is of great interest and has been lo ...

This paper investigates how concentrations of certain fission products and their related gamma-ray emissions can be used to discriminate between uranium oxide (UOX) and mixed oxide (MOX) type fuel. Discrimination of irradiated MOX fuel from irradiated UOX fuel is important in nuclear facilities and for transport of nuclear fuel, for purposes of both criticality safety and nuclear safeguards. Although facility operators keep records on the identity and properties of each fuel, tools for nuclear safeguards inspectors that enable independent verification of the fuel are critical in the recovery of continuity of knowledge, should it be lost. A discrimination methodology for classification of UOX and MOX fuel, based on passive gamma-ray spectroscopy data and multivariate analysis methods, is presented. Nuclear fuels and their gamma-ray emissions were simulated in the Monte Carlo code Serpent, and the resulting data was used as input to train seven different multivariate classification techniques. The trained classifiers were subsequently implemented and evaluated with respect to their capabilities to correctly predict the classes of unknown fuel items. The best results concerning successful discrimination of UOX and MOX-fuel were acquired when using non-linear classification techniques, such as the k nearest neighbors method and the Gaussian kernel support vector machine. For fuel with cooling times up to 20 years, when it is considered that gamma-rays from the isotope 134Cs can still be efficiently measured, success rates of 100% were obtained. A sensitivity analysis indicated that these methods were also robust.

The radionuclide composition of, and emitted radiation in, spent nuclear fuel from the future MYRRHA facility have been studied using depletion simulations to understand potential consequences for safeguards verification using non-destructive assay. The simulations show that both the gamma-ray and neutron emission rates in spent MYRRHA assemblies are lower than in spent PWR UO2 and MOX assemblies. In addition, gamma-ray emission rates from 134Cs and 154Eu are considerably lower, and the total neutron emission rate in MYRRHA fuel is much less sensitive to fuel burnup and cooling time. The main reason is that the fast neutron spectrum in MYRRHA affects the radionuclide production in the fuel. One result is that 244Cm, the main contributor to the neutron emission in spent light water reactor fuel, has a limited production in MYRRHA. Consequently, neutron-detection techniques could be used to more directly assay the plutonium content of spent MYRRHA fuel.

In this paper, we investigate the application of multivariate data analysis methods to the analysis of gamma spectroscopy measurements of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Using a simulated irradiation and cooling of nuclear fuel over a wide range of cooling times (CT), total burnup at discharge (BU) and initial enrichments (IE) we investigate the possibilities of using a multivariate data analysis of the gamma ray emission signatures from the fuel to determine these fuel parameters. This is accomplished by training a multivariate analysis method on simulated data and then applying the method to simulated, but perturbed, data. We find that for SNF with CT less than about 20 years, a single gamma spectrum from a high resolution gamma spectrometer, such as a high-purity germanium spectrometer, allows for the determination of the above mentioned fuel parameters. Further, using measured gamma spectra from real SNF from Swedish pressurized light water reactors we were able to confirm the operator declared fuel parameters. In this case, a multivariate analysis trained on simulated data and applied to real data was used.

The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) is a tool used to verify irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage by imaging the Cherenkov light produced by the radiation emitted from the assemblies. It is frequently used for partial defect verification, verifying that part of an assembly has not been removed and/or replaced. In one of the verification procedures used, the detected total Cherenkov light intensities from a set of assemblies are compared to predicted intensities, which are calculated using operator declarations for the assemblies. This work presents a new, time-efficient method to simulate DCVD images of fuel assemblies, allowing for estimations of the Cherenkov light production, transport and detection. Qualitatively, good agreement between simulated and measured images is demonstrated. Quantitatively, it is shown that relative intensity predictions based on simulated images are within 0.5% of corresponding predictions based solely on the production of Cherenkov light, neglecting light transport and detection. Consequently, in most cases it is sufficient to use predictions based on produced Cherenkov light, neglecting transport and detection, thus substantially reducing the time needed for simulations. In a verification campaign, assemblies are grouped according to their type, and the relative measured and predicted intensities are compared in a group. By determining transparency factors, describing the fraction of Cherenkov light that is blocked by the top plate of an assembly, it is possible to adjust predictions based on the production of Cherenkov light to take the effect of the top plate into account. This procedure allows assemblies of the same type bit with different top plates to be compared with increased accuracy. The effect of using predictions adjusted with transparency factors were assessed experimentally on a set of Pressurized Water Reactor 17x17 assemblies having five different top plate designs. As a result of the adjustment, the agreement between measured and predicted relative intensities for the whole data set was enhanced, resulting in a reduction of an RMSE from 14.1% to 10.7%. It is expected that further enhancements may be achieved by introducing more detailed top-plate and spacer descriptions.

Before encapsulation of spent nuclear fuel in a geological repository, the fuels need to be verified for safeguards purposes. This requirement applies to all spent fuel assemblies, including those with properties or designs that are especially challenging to verify. One such example are quivers, a new type of containers used to hold damaged spent fuel rods. After placing damaged rods inside the quivers, they are sealed with a thick lid and the water is removed. The lid is thick enough to significantly reduce the amount of the gamma radiation penetrating through it, which can make safeguards verification from the top using gamma techniques difficult. Considering that the number of quivers at storage facilities is foreseen to increase in near future, studying the feasibility of verification is timely. In this paper we make a feasibility study related to safeguards verification of quivers, aimed at investigating the gamma and neutron radiation field around a quiver designed by Westinghouse AB and filled with PWR fuel rods irradiated at the Swedish Ringhals site. A simplified geometry of the quiver and the detailed operational history of each rod are provided by Westinghouse and the reactor operator, respectively. The nuclide inventory of the rods placed in the quiver and the emission source terms are calculated with ORIGEN-ARP. The radiation transport is modeled with the Serpent2 Monte Carlo code. The first objective is to assess the capability of the spent fuel attribute tester (SFAT) to verify the content for nuclear safeguards purposes. The results show that the thick quiver lid attenuates the gamma radiation, thereby making gamma radiation based verification from above the quiver difficult.

In this paper we present a set of image analysis techniques used for extraction of information from cross-sectional images of nuclear fuel assemblies, achieved from gamma emission tomography measurements. These techniques are based on template matching, an established method for identifying objects with known properties in images. We demonstrate a rod template matching algorithm for identification and counting of the fuel rods present in the image. This technique may be applicable in nuclear safeguards inspections, because of the potential of verifying the presence of all fuel rods, or potentially discovering any that are missing. We also demonstrate the accurate determination of the position of a fuel assembly, or parts of the assembly, within the imaged area. Accurate knowledge of the assembly position enables detailed modelling of the gamma transport through the fuel, which in turn is needed to make tomographic reconstructions quantifying the activity in each fuel rod with high precision. Using the full gamma energy spectrum, details about the location of different gamma-emitting isotopes within the fuel assembly can be extracted. We also demonstrate the capability to determine the position of supporting parts of the nuclear fuel assembly through their attenuating effect on the gamma rays emitted from the fuel. Altogether this enhances the capabilities of non-destructive nuclear fuel characterization.

As part of the United States (US) Department of Energy׳s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Spent Fuel (NGSI-SF) project, the traditional Differential Die-Away (DDA) method that was originally developed for waste drum assay has been investigated and modified to provide a novel application to characterize or verify spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Following the promising, yet largely theoretical and simulation based, research of physics aspects of the DDA technique applied to SNF assay during the early stages of the NGSI-SF project, the most recent effort has been focused on the practical aspects of developing the first fully functional and deployable DDA prototype instrument for spent fuel. As a result of the collaboration among US research institutions and Sweden, the opportunity to test the newly proposed instrument׳s performance with commercial grade SNF at the Swedish Interim Storage Facility (Clab) emerged. Therefore the design of this instrument prototype has to accommodate the requirements of the Swedish regulator as well as specific engineering constrains given by the unique industrial environment. Within this paper, we identify key components of the DDA based instrument and we present methodology for evaluation and the results of a selection of the most relevant design parameters in order to optimize the performance for a given application, i.e. test-deployment, including assay of 50 preselected spent nuclear fuel assemblies of both pressurized (PWR) as well as boiling (BWR) water reactor type.

Using a high-purity Germanium gamma-ray energy spectroscopic detector system, time-stamped list-mode data sets were acquired during axial scanning of 19 boiling water reactor (BWR) and 28 pressurized water reactor (PWR) type of nuclear fuel assemblies. The data sets were collected during two measurements campaigns in September 2016 and March 2019 at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear (Clab) in Sweden. A certified calibration source of 137Cs was positioned along the central line of sight between the measured fuel assembly and the detector. Data sets from measurements with only the calibration source and other background sources, i.e. without a nuclear fuel assembly present, are also included. The list-mode structure of the measured data allows for an axially-resolved as well as energy-spectral resolved intensity of nuclide-specific gamma lines emitted from the spent nuclear fuel. Data presented here can be used e.g. for validation of gamma-ray transport simulation tools or for development of methods to estimate parameters of the spent nuclear fuel based on data from gamma-ray spectroscopy.

Differential Die-Away Self-Interrogation (DDSI) is a method by which the characteristic die-away of neutrons from spontaneous and induced fissions is used to characterize a spent nuclear fuel assembly. A nondestructive assay (NDA) instrument was built at Los Alamos National Laboratory to implement and test the DDSI method. The DDSI instrument contains 3He detectors which measure thermal neutrons, and the time and location of detection of each neutron is recorded via list-mode data acquisition. The instrument was sent to the Clab interim storage facility in Sweden for measurement and characterization of 50 spent pressurized water reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies. The result was over 40 h of neutron list-mode data from a wide variety of fuel assemblies with high enough efficiency to perform neutron coincidence counting, i.e. detection of time-correlated neutrons from fission. Analysis algorithms for characterization of the fuel assemblies were tested on the Swedish spent fuel dataset. Using the measured data, multiplication, fissile mass, initial enrichment, burnup, and total plutonium mass were determined in the 50 assemblies with root mean square errors ranging from 1.5% for PWR multiplication to 11.4% for BWR fissile mass. The results in this work demonstrate that the DDSI concept is capable of characterizing spent power reactor fuel with levels of accuracy that are compatible with the requirements and objectives of various applications such as safeguards verification or facility material control and accounting.

The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) is an imaging tool used by authority inspectors for partial defect verification of nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage, i.e. to verify that part of an assembly has not been diverted. One of the currently adopted verification procedures is based on quantitative measurements of the assembly's Cherenkov light emissions, and comparisons to an expected intensity, calculated based on operator declarations. A background subtraction of the intensity data in the recorded images is necessary for accurate quantitative measurements. The currently used background subtraction is aimed at removing an electronics-induced image-wide offset, but it is argued here that the currently adopted procedure may be insufficient. It is recommended that a standard dark-frame subtraction should be used, to remove systematic pixel-wise background due to the electronics, replacing the currently used offset procedure. Experimental analyses show that a dark-frame subtraction would further enhance the accuracy and reliability of DCVD measurements. Furthermore, should ageing of the CCD chip result in larger systematic pixel-wise deviations over time, a dark-frame subtraction can ensure reliable measurements regardless of the age of the CCD chip. It can also help in eliminating any adverse effects of malfunctioning pixels. In addition to the background from electronic noise, ways to compensate for background from neighbouring fuel assemblies and ambient light are also discussed.

Previous simulation studies of Differential Die‐Away (DDA) instrument’s response to active interrogation of spent nuclear fuel from a pressurized water reactor (PWR) yielded promising results in terms of its capability to accurately measure or estimate basic spent fuel assembly (SFA) characteristics, such as multiplication, initial enrichment (IE) and burn-up (BU) as well as the total plutonium content. These studies were however performed only for a subset of idealized SFAs with a symmetric BU with respect to its longitudinal axis. Therefore, to complement the previous results, additional simulations have been performed of the DDA instrument’s response to interrogation of asymmetrically burned spent nuclear fuel in order to determine whether detailed assay of SFAs from all 4 sides will be necessary in real life applications or whether a cost and time saving single sided assay could be used to achieve results of similar quality as previously reported in case of symmetrically burned SFAs. The results of this study suggest that DDA instrument response depends on the position of the individual neutron detectors and in fact can be split in two modes. The first mode, measured by the back detectors, is not significantly sensitive to the spatial distribution of fissile isotopes and neutron absorbers, but rather reflects the total amount of both contributors as in the cases of symmetrically burned SFAs. In contrary, the second mode, measured by the front detectors, yields certain sensitivity to the orientation of the asymmetrically burned SFA inside the assaying instrument. This study thus provides evidence that the DDA instrument can potentially be utilized as necessary in both ways, i.e. a quick determination of the average SFA characteristics in a single assay, as well as a more detailed characterization involving several DDA observables through assay of the SFA from all of its four sides that can possibly map the burn-up distribution and/or identify diversion or replacement of pins.

A fuel assembly operated in a nuclear power plant typically contains 100–300 fuel rods, depending on fuel type, which become strongly radioactive during irradiation in the reactor core. For operational and security reasons, it is of interest to experimentally deduce rod-wise information from the fuel, preferably by means of non-destructive measurements. The tomographic SPECT technique offers such possibilities through its two-step application; (1) recording the gamma-ray flux distribution around the fuel assembly, and (2) reconstructing the assembly׳s internal source distribution, based on the recorded radiation field. In this paper, algorithms for performing the latter step and extracting quantitative relative rod-by-rod data are accounted for. As compared to application of SPECT in nuclear medicine, nuclear fuel assemblies present a much more heterogeneous distribution of internal attenuation to gamma radiation than the human body, typically with rods containing pellets of heavy uranium dioxide surrounded by cladding of a zirconium alloy placed in water or air. This inhomogeneity severely complicates the tomographic quantification of the rod-wise relative source content, and the deduction of conclusive data requires detailed modelling of the attenuation to be introduced in the reconstructions. However, as shown in this paper, simplified models may still produce valuable information about the fuel. Here, a set of reconstruction algorithms for SPECT on nuclear fuel assemblies are described and discussed in terms of their quantitative performance for two applications; verification of fuel assemblies׳ completeness in nuclear safeguards, and rod-wise fuel characterization. It is argued that a request not to base the former assessment on any a priori information brings constraints to which reconstruction methods that may be used in that case, whereas the use of a priori information on geometry and material content enables highly accurate quantitative assessment, which may be particularly useful in the latter application. Two main classes of algorithms are covered; (1) analytic filtered back-projection algorithms, and (2) a group of model-based or algebraic algorithms. For the former class, a basic algorithm has been implemented, which does not take attenuation in the materials of the fuel assemblies into account and which assumes an idealized imaging geometry. In addition, a novel methodology has been presented for introducing a first-order correction to the obtained images for these deficits; in particular, the effects of attenuation are taken into account by modelling the response for an object with a homogeneous mix of fuel materials in the image area. Neither the basic algorithm, nor the correction method requires prior knowledge of the fuel geometry, but they result in images of the assembly׳s internal activity distribution. Image analysis is then applied to deduce quantitative information. Two algebraic algorithms are also presented, which model attenuation in the fuel assemblies to different degrees; either assuming a homogenous mix of materials in the image area without a priori information or utilizing known information of the assembly geometry and of its position in the measuring setup for modelling the gamma-ray attenuation in detail. Both algorithms model the detection system in detail. The former algorithm returns an image of the cross-section of the object, from which quantitative information is extracted, whereas the latter returns conclusive relative rod-by-rod data. Here, all reconstruction methods are demonstrated on simulated data of a 96-rod fuel assembly in a tomographic measurement setup. The assembly was simulated with the same activity content in all rods for evaluation purposes. Based on the results, it is argued that the choice of algorithm to a large degree depends on application, and also that a combination of reconstruction methods may be useful. A discussion on alternative analysis methods is also included.

Safeguards verification of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage is frequently done by measuring the Cherenkov light in the surrounding water produced due to radioactive decays of fission products in the fuel. This paper accounts for the physical processes behind the Cherenkov light production caused by a single fuel rod in wet storage, and simulations are presented that investigate to what extent various properties of the rod affect the Cherenkov light production. The results show that the fuel properties has a noticeable effect on the Cherenkov light production, and thus that the prediction models for Cherenkov light production which are used in the safeguards verifications could potentially be improved by considering these properties.It is concluded that the dominating source of the Cherenkov light is gamma-ray interactions with electrons in the surrounding water. Electrons created from beta decay may also exit the fuel and produce Cherenkov light, and e.g. Y-90 was identified as a possible contributor to significant levels of the measurable Cherenkov light in long-cooled fuel. The results also show that the cylindrical, elongated fuel rod geometry results in a non-isotropic Cherenkov light production, and the light component parallel to the rod's axis exhibits a dependence on gamma-ray energy that differs from the total intensity, which is of importance since the typical safeguards measurement situation observes the vertical light component. It is also concluded that the radial distributions of the radiation sources in a fuel rod will affect the Cherenkov light production.

The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) [1] is a tool used by nuclear safeguards inspectors to verify irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage based on the Cherenkov light produced by the assembly. Verifying that no rods have been substituted in the fuel, so-called partial-defect verification, is done by comparing the intensity measured with a DCVD with a predicted intensity, based on operator fuel declaration. The prediction model currently used by inspectors is based on simulations of Cherenkov light production in a BWR 8x8 geometry. This work investigates prediction models based on simulated Cherenkov light production in a BWR 8x8 and a PWR 17x17 assembly, as well as a simplified model based on a single rod in water. Cherenkov light caused by both fission product gamma and beta decays was considered. The simulations reveal that there are systematic differences between the model used by safeguards inspectors and the models described in this publication, most noticeably with respect to the fuel assembly cooling time. Consequently, if the intensity predictions are based on another fuel type than the fuel type being measured, a systematic bias in intensity with respect to burnup and cooling time is introduced. While a simplified model may be accurate enough for a set of fuel assemblies with nearly identical cooling times, the prediction models may differ systematically by up to 18 % for fuels with more varied cooling times. Accordingly, these investigations indicate that the currently used model may need to be exchanged with a set of more detailed, fuel-type specific models, in order minimize the model dependent systematic deviations.

Recently, nuclear power has received support from environmental and climate researchers emphasizing the need to address factors of global importance such as climate change, peace and welfare. Here, we add to previous discussions on meeting future climate goals while securing safe supplies of energy by discussing future nuclear energy systems in the perspective of strengthening nuclear non-proliferation and aiding in the process of reducing stockpiles of nuclear weapons materials. New nuclear energy systems, currently under development within the Generation IV (Gen IV) framework, are being designed to offer passive safety and inherent means to mitigate consequences of nuclear accidents. Here, we describe how these systems may also be used to reduce or even eliminate stockpiles of civil and military plutonium—the former present in waste from today׳s reactors and the latter produced for weapons purposes. It is argued that large-scale implementation of Gen IV systems would impose needs for strong nuclear safeguards. The deployment of Safeguards-by-Design principles in the design and construction phases can avoid draining of IAEA resources by enabling more effective and cost-efficient nuclear safeguards, as compared to the current safeguards implementation, which was enforced decades after the first nuclear power plants started operation.

This paper describes possible ways of analyzing and interpreting data obtained using the digital Cherenkov viewing device on spent nuclear fuel assemblies for the identification of partial defects ...

The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) is an instrument that records the Cherenkov light emitted from irradiated nuclear fuels in wet storages. The presence, intensity and pattern of the Cherenkov light can be used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to verify that the fuel properties comply with declarations. The DCVD is since several years approved by the IAEA for gross defect verification, i.e. to control whether an item in a storage pool is a nuclear fuel assembly or a non-fuel item [1] . Recently, it has also been endorsed as a tool for partial defect verification, i.e. to identify if a fraction of the fuel rods in an assembly have been removed or replaced. The latter recognition was based on investigations of experimental studies on authentic fuel assemblies and of simulation studies on hypothetic cases of partial defects [2] . This paper describes the simulation methodology and software which was used in the partial defect capability evaluations. The developed simulation procedure uses three stand-alone software packages: the ORIGEN-ARP code [3] used to obtain the gamma-ray spectrum from the fission products in the fuel, the Monte Carlo toolkit Geant4 [4] for simulating the gamma-ray transport in and around the fuel and the emission of Cherenkov light, and the ray-tracing programme Zemax [5] used to model the light transport through the assembly geometry to the DCVD and to mimic the behaviour of its lens system. Furthermore, the software allows for detailed information from the plant operator on power and/or burnup distributions to be taken into account to enhance the authenticity of the simulated images. To demonstrate the results of the combined software packages, simulated and measured DCVD images are presented. A short discussion on the usefulness of the simulation tool is also included.

The response of a matrix of 25 lead tungstate (PWO) scintillator detectors, operated at -25 degrees C, to photons in the range 13 MeV-64 MeV has been measured at the tagged-photon facility at MAX-l ...

Erratum to “Assessment of proliferation resistances of aqueous reprocessing techniques using the TOPS methodology” [Ann. Nucl. Energy 62 (2013) 390–397]

The thesis comprises investigations of two topics related to the PANDA experiment. The first part is dedicated to energy resolution and light yield uniformity studies of PWO crystals for the electromagnetic calorimeter. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to simulation studies of the p̅p→Λ̅Λ and the p̅p→Λ̅Σ0 channels. Photon response measurements with one 3×3 crystals matrix of rectangular crystals and one 5×5 matrix with tapered crystals have been performed at the MAX-Lab synchrotron facility in Lund, Sweden. Photon energies in the range of 13-84 MeV were used. GEANT4 simulations were performed in order to find the most suitable method for adding the energy contributions and for calibration purposes. The widths, σ, of the resulting experimental summed energy peaks were fitted using the Novosibirsk distribution. The results show that the electromagnetic shower at 84 MeV is completely contained in the 5×5 matrix. The widths (σ) for the summed energy peaks were determined.Studies of the uniformity of the light yield were performed for crystals of three different shapes and different wrapping materials. The light yield as a function of distance between the point of energy depositions and the PM tube, was shown to be closely related to the crystal shape and the wrapping material. The p̅p→Λ̅Λ channel was studies at beam momenta of 1.64 GeV/c, 4 GeV/c and 15 GeV/c, while p̅p→Λ̅Σ0 was studied at 4 GeV/c. In the simulations, both phase space differential cross-sections and experimental differential cross-sections from PS185 were used as input. The purpose of the simulations was to show that the reaction channels can be reconstructed in the detector. Special interest was paid to the polarisation and spin correlations of the hyperons. The result is that there is acceptance of cosθ angular range over the full momentum range of the HESR for both channels. Using isotropic differential cross-sections, the polarisation for Λ̅ and Σ0 as well as spin correlations between Λ̅Λ and Λ̅Σ0 can be well reconstructed. Using the differential cross-sections from PS185, the particles are more likely to go forwards in their respective directions in the CM-system, thus making reconstruction over the full angular range more difficult at high beam momenta.

The Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) facility in Darmstadt, Germany, will be upgraded to accommodate a new generation of physics experiments. The future accelerator facility will be called FAIR and one of the experimentsat the site will be PANDA, which aims at performing hadron physics investigations by colliding anti-protons with protons. The licentiate thesis consistsof three sections related to PANDA. The first contains energy resolutionstudies of PbWO4 crystals, the second light yield uniformity studies of PbWO4 crystals and the third reconstruction of the lambda-bar-polarisation in the PANDA experiment. Two measurements of the energy resolution were performed at MAX-Lab in Lund, Sweden, with an array of 3x3 PbWO4 crystals using a tagged photon beam with energies between 19 and 56 MeV. For the April measurement, the crystals were cooled down to -15 degrees C and for the September measurement down to -25 degrees C. The measured relative energy resolution, /E, is decreasing from approximately 12% at 20 MeV to 7% at 55 MeV. In the standard energy resolution expression /E = a/ b/E c, the three parameters a, b and c seem to be strongly correlated and thus difficult to determine independently over this relative small energy range. The value of a was therefore fixed to that one would expect from Poisson statistics of the light collection yield (50 phe/MeV) and the results from fits were /E=0.45%/ 0.18%/EGeV 8.63% and /E = 0.45%/0.21%/EGeV 6.12% for the April and September measurements, respectively. The data from the September measurement was also combined with previous data from MAMI for higher energies, ranging from approximately 64 to 715 MeV. The global fit over the whole range of energies gave an energy resolution expression of /E = 1.6%/ 0.095%/EGeV 2.1%. Light yield uniformity studies of five PbWO4 crystals, three tapered and two non-tapered ones, have also been performed. The tapered crystals delivered a light output which increased with increasing distance from the Photo Multiplier Tube (PM tube). Black tape was put on different sides of one tapered crystals, far from the PM tube to try to get a more constant uniformity prole. It was seen that the light output profile depends on the position of the tape. Generally, the steep increase in light output at large distances from the PM tube could be damped. The third part of the thesis concerns the reconstruction of the lambdabar polarisation in the reaction . Events were generated using a modied generator from the PS185 experiment at LEAR. With a 100% polarisation perpendicular to the scattering plane, a polarisation of (99±1.8)% was reconstructed. Slight non-zero polarisations along the axis determined by the outgoing hyperon as well as the axis in the scattering plane, were also reconstructed. These were (4.1±2.1)% and (2.6±2.0)% respectively. From this investigation it was shown that the detector efficiency was not homogeneous and that slow pions are difficult to reconstruct.