Further Reading — Chapter 28

Textbooks and Monographs

• R. Serber, The Los Alamos Primer (University of California Press, 1992). The original 1943 lectures by Robert Serber to incoming Manhattan Project scientists, declassified in 1965. The foundational document for weapons physics at a conceptual level. Essential reading for any physicist working in nuclear security.

• K.S. Krane, Introductory Nuclear Physics (Wiley, 1988), Chapter 13. Standard undergraduate treatment of fission, including weapons physics and reactor physics. The level is consistent with the present chapter.

• S.S. Hecker, Doomed to Cooperate (Bathtub Row Press, 2016). Two-volume account of US-Russian nuclear cooperation by the former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Provides the scientific and human context of post-Cold War nuclear security.

• C.D. Ferguson and W.C. Potter, The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism (Routledge, 2005). Comprehensive analysis of the nuclear terrorism threat: theft of weapons, theft of material, attack on nuclear facilities, and radiological dispersal. Physics-informed policy analysis.

Weapons Physics (Unclassified)

• J. Carson Mark, "Explosive Properties of Reactor-Grade Plutonium," Science & Global Security 4 (1993) 111–128. Landmark analysis by a former Los Alamos weapons designer, demonstrating that reactor-grade plutonium can be used in a weapon. Essential for understanding the "reactor-grade Pu can't be used" misconception.

• R. Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb (Simon & Schuster, 1986). Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Manhattan Project. Masterful integration of the physics and the history.

• R. Rhodes, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (Simon & Schuster, 1995). The companion volume covering the thermonuclear weapon, the Soviet program, and the espionage that transferred weapons information.

Enrichment and Proliferation

• A.S. Krass, P. Boskma, B. Elzen, and W.A. Smit, Uranium Enrichment and Nuclear Weapon Proliferation (Taylor & Francis, 1983). Technical analysis of enrichment technologies and their proliferation implications. Dated but still valuable for the physics.

• D. Albright, Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America's Enemies (Free Press, 2010). The definitive account of the A.Q. Khan nuclear black market, by the president of the Institute for Science and International Security.

• Houston G. Wood, Alexander Glaser, and R. Scott Kemp, "The Gas Centrifuge and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation," Physics Today 61(9), 40–45 (2008). Accessible overview of centrifuge physics and proliferation implications, written for physicists.

Nuclear Forensics

• K. Mayer, M. Wallenius, and Z. Varga, "Nuclear Forensic Science: Correlating Measurable Material Parameters to the History of Nuclear Material," Chemical Reviews 113(2), 884–900 (2013). Comprehensive review of nuclear forensic techniques by leading practitioners at the European Commission's Institute for Transuranium Elements.

• National Research Council, Nuclear Forensics: A Capability at Risk (National Academies Press, 2010). Assessment of US nuclear forensics capabilities and recommendations for maintaining and improving them.

• IAEA, Nuclear Forensics in Support of Investigations, Nuclear Security Series No. 2-G (Rev.1) (IAEA, 2015). The IAEA's guidance document on nuclear forensics methodology. Freely available from the IAEA website.

Safeguards and Verification

• IAEA, IAEA Safeguards: Staying Ahead of the Game (IAEA, 2007). Overview of the safeguards system by the IAEA itself. Accessible introduction for non-specialists.

• T. Shea, "The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Progress in Monitoring," Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science 58, 277–309 (2008). Review of the CTBT verification system, including seismic, infrasound, hydroacoustic, and radionuclide monitoring.

• R. Scott Kemp, "Environmental Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Weapon Programs," Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 44, 17–35 (2016). Review of how environmental signatures (krypton-85, particulate emissions, thermal signatures) can reveal undeclared nuclear activities.

Radiation Detection for Security

• G.F. Knoll, Radiation Detection and Measurement, 4th ed. (Wiley, 2010). The standard graduate textbook on radiation detectors. Chapters on scintillation detectors, semiconductor detectors, and neutron detection are directly relevant.

• R.C. Runkle, A. Bernstein, and P.E. Vanier, "Securing Special Nuclear Material: Recent Advances in Neutron Detection and Their Role in Nonproliferation," Journal of Applied Physics 108, 111101 (2010). Review of neutron detection technologies for nuclear security, including the ${}^{3}\text{He}$ shortage and alternative technologies.

Online Resources

• IAEA Nuclear Security Series: Freely available guidance documents on physical protection, nuclear forensics, detection, and response. https://www.iaea.org/publications/search/type/nuclear-security-series

• IAEA PRIS (Power Reactor Information System): Database of nuclear power reactors worldwide. https://pris.iaea.org/

• National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC), Brookhaven: Nuclear data (cross sections, decay data, fission yields) used in forensic analysis and weapons physics calculations. https://www.nndc.bnl.gov/

• Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Science-based analysis of nuclear weapons and security policy. Founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists. https://fas.org/

• International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM): Independent analysis of global fissile material stocks and policies. https://fissilematerials.org/

• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: The Doomsday Clock and expert analysis of nuclear risk. https://thebulletin.org/