Postdetonation nuclear debris for attribution

TLDR

The first atomic bomb detonated on July 16, 1945, was a plutonium implosion device similar to the Nagasaki bomb, and recent legislation has enabled scientists to explore forensic information from nuclear detonations. The study aims to develop a robust attribution method for nonstate‑placed nuclear devices by analyzing both nuclear and ancillary construction materials. The authors examined glassed ground debris from the first test using multiple analytical techniques to identify correlations. The analysis revealed that microanalysis can identify secondary materials and link them to the nuclear material, providing strong attribution evidence.

Abstract

On the morning of July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was exploded in New Mexico on the White Sands Proving Ground. The device was a plutonium implosion device similar to the device that destroyed Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9 of that same year. Recently, with the enactment of US public law 111-140, the "Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act," scientists in the government and academia have been able, in earnest, to consider what type of forensic-style information may be obtained after a nuclear detonation. To conduct a robust attribution process for an exploded device placed by a nonstate actor, forensic analysis must yield information about not only the nuclear material in the device but about other materials that went into its construction. We have performed an investigation of glassed ground debris from the first nuclear test showing correlations among multiple analytical techniques. Surprisingly, there is strong evidence, obtainable only through microanalysis, that secondary materials used in the device can be identified and positively associated with the nuclear material.