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DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
Joel A. Kulesza
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 200 | Number 2 | February 2026 | Pages 241-245
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2025.2483123
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper resolves a perennial point of confusion regarding the source-weighting normalization factor recommended in the MCNP manual () to stochastically estimate the volume of a region within an enclosing inward-directed spherical surface source with radius . The normalization factor arises from the relationship between a sphere’ s mean chord length, its volume, and the values estimated by MCNP track-length tallies. A brief derivation is given that relates these quantities and results in the stated normalization. The correctness of this factor is demonstrated by estimating the volume of a variety of convex and nonconvex volumes. A heuristic demonstration of how biasing the inward-directed source reduces the statistical uncertainty of the stochastic volume estimate is also given, but a rigorous analysis of this improvement is left as future work.