Nuclear Commons^™

Letter From The Editor - Hirst, Russel K. Hirst

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Building The Education And Training Pillar Of The University Of Tennessee’S Institute For Nuclear Security, Howard Lewis Hall

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The University of Tennessee (UT) developed its first formal and coordinated efforts in nuclear security education in 2008-2009 with its graduate certificate program in nuclear security in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Building on this work, in 2011 UT established the UT Institute for Nuclear Security (INS) as a collaborative center at the university to expand its curricular impact as well as foster research and partnerships with nearby major governmental facilities engaged in nuclear security work. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) have joined with UT as charter members …

Promoting Excellence And Demonstrated Competence For Nuclear Security Training, Daniel Johnson, Brunelle Battistella, Roger Howsley

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The international community has spent considerable time, money, and effort attempting to establish a series of national and regional Centres of Excellence (COEs), also known as Nuclear Security Training and Support Centres (NSSCs). These Centres tend to have a wide variety of objectives, structures, and methods of delivery. Unsurprisingly, no internationally accepted standard exists on how they should operate. The IAEA has produced some excellent guidance (TECDOC 1734), but by virtue of its role cannot provide standards for benchmarking success. Against this backdrop, the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) launched the WINS Academy, an initiative to provide practitioners with …

Nuclear Security Education At Pakistan Institute Of Engineering And Applied Sciences (Pieas): Current Status, Future Prospects And The Lessons Learnt, Tariq Majeed Dr.

International Journal of Nuclear Security

In this paper, the details of nuclear security education at Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) have been discussed. Nuclear Security education was initiated at PIEAS as a sub-specialty of its MS Nuclear Engineering Program in October 2009. Two courses, Nuclear Security (NE-581) and Physical Protection Systems (NE-582) have been offered on regular basis in the 3^rd and 4^th semesters. To date, 72 students have been graduated with this sub-specialty. The most important lesson learnt is that introduction of nuclear security related courses in nuclear engineering program has opened up new venues of applications of nuclear …

Nuclear Security And Hrd - Viet Nam’S Effort, Nu-Hoai-Vi Nguyen, Tan Huu Vuong

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Viet Nam is expanding its nuclear energy program for the application in various areas including industries, agriculture, healthcare, education and research. Recognizing the importance of the nineteen issues laid out in the IAEA document “Milestones in Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power” [1], Vietnam is considering how to address these issues. This paper describes the establishment of nuclear security infrastructure in Viet Nam and how Viet Nam has addressed one of the nineteen issues, that is human resource development in nuclear energy in general and in nuclear security in particular.

Challenges And Responses For Ensuring Sustainability Of Insa Training Programs, Jongsook Kim, Hyung-Kyung Lee, Jin-Young Lee

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Providing a systematic training is critical for a state or international perspective to reinforce nuclear security regime nationally or internationally. Korea government recognizes the importance of such challenge, and established the INSA under the KINAC as a Center of Excellence for fostering national nuclear security capacity and contributing international nuclear security governance. INSA started with the government policy that the establishment of sustainable education and training infrastructure and processes is fundamental to the capacity building strategy. After established, INSA has been designing and delivering the domestic and international/regional training programs for the purpose of fostering human resources development in nuclear …

The Utility Of Table-Top Exercises In Teaching Nuclear Security, Christopher Hobbs, Luca Lentini, Matthew Moran

International Journal of Nuclear Security

In the emerging field of nuclear security, those responsible for education and training are constantly seeking to identify and engage with tools and approaches that provide for a constructive learning environment. In this context, this paper explores the nature and value of Tabletop exercises (TTX) and how they can be applied in the nuclear security context. On the one hand, the paper dissects the key components of the TTX and considers the broader pedagogical benefits of this teaching method. On the other hand, the paper draws lessons from the authors’ experience of running TTXs as part of nuclear security professional …

Cultural Awareness In Nuclear Security Programs: A Critical Link, Al-Sharif Nasser Bin Nasser, Jasmine Auda, Katherine Bachner

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Nuclear security programs that offer training and capacity building opportunities to practitioners working in nuclear facilities play a central role in strengthening the global nuclear security architecture. There is often a significant divide, however, between both the development of these programs and their implementation, and between the programs’ intended and actual outcomes. As this article will argue, this disconnect can often be attributed to an absence of cultural awareness and an inability for internationally-designed programs to effectively resonate with local audiences. Accordingly, the importance of the role of cultural awareness in implementing nuclear security programs will be assessed, and its …

Target And Beam-Target Spin Asymmetries In Exclusive Π+ And Π− Electroproduction With 1.6- To 5.7-Gev Electrons, P. E. Bosted, A. S. Biselli, S. Careccia, G. Dodge, R. Fersch, N. Guler, S. E. Kuhn, J. Pierce, Y. Prok, X. Zheng, K. P. Adhikari, D. Adikaram, Z. Akbar, M. J. Amaryan, S. Anefalos Pereira, G. Asryan, H. Avakian, R. A. Badui, J. Ball, N. A. Baltzell, M. Battaglieri, V. Batourine, I. Bedlinskiy, S. Boiarinov, W. J. Briscoe, S. Bültmann, V. D. Burkert, T. Cao, D. S. Carman, A. Celentano, Wesley P. Gohn

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Beam-target double-spin asymmetries and target single-spin asymmetries in exclusive π+ and quasiexclusive π− electroproduction were obtained from scattering of 1.6- to 5.7-GeV longitudinally polarized electrons from longitudinally polarized protons (for π+) and deuterons (for π−) using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab. The kinematic range covered is 1.1 < W < 2.6 GeV and 0.05 < Q² < 5 GeV², with good angular coverage in the forward hemisphere. The asymmetry results were divided into approximately 40 000 kinematic bins for π+ from free protons and 15 000 bins for π− production from bound nucleons in the deuteron. The …

High Pressure Line Shapes Of The Rb D1 And D2 Lines For 4He And 3He Collisions, Wooddy S. Miller, Christopher A. Rice, Gordon D. Hager, Matthew D. Rotondaro, Hamid Berriche, Glen P. Perram

Faculty Publications

Line shapes for the Rb D₁ (5²S_1/2 ↔ 5²P_1/2) and D₂ (5²S_1/2 ↔ 5²P_3/2) transitions with ⁴He and ³He collisions at pressures of 500–15,000 Torr and temperatures of 333–533 K have been experimentally observed and compared to predictions from the Anderson–Talman theory. The ground X²Σ⁺_1/2 and excited A²Π_1/2, A²Π_3/2, and B²Σ⁺_1/2 potential energy surfaces required for the line shape predictions have been calculated using a one-electron …

Electroproduction Of Neutral Pion Off Helium-4, Bayram Torayev

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Deeply virtual exclusive processes offer a unique opportunity to study the internal structure of the nucleon and nuclei. The goal of this work is to extract the beam-spin asymmetry in deeply virtual coherent neutral pion electroproduction, e⁴He → e′⁴He′π⁰, using the CLAS detector in the experimental Hall B at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The data were collected in 2009 with a 6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron beam impinging on a 30 cm long, 6 atm Helium-4 gaseous target. In order to ensure that the process is coherent, a new Radial Time Projection Chamber …

Application Of The Dispersive Optical Model To 208pb, Michael Keim

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

A review of developments for the application of the dispersive optical model (DOM) to ²⁰⁸Pb is presented. By providing appropriate parameters describing real and imaginary parts of a nonlocal self-energy, connected through a dispersion relation, reasonable reproductions of both scattering and bound-state properties are generated. By fitting these parameters to experimental data, a more accurate description of the neutron skin may be achieved, which would have implications for the physics of neutron stars.

Measurement Of Elliptic Flow Of Light Nuclei At √SNn = 200, 62.4, 39, 27, 19.6, 11.5, And 7.7 Gev At The Bnl Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, L. Adamczyk, James K. Adkins, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, A. Attri, G. S. Averichev, X. Bai, V. Bairathi, R. Bellwied, A. Bhasin, A. K. Bhati, P. Bhattarai, J. Bielcik, J. Bielcikova, L. C. Bland, I. G. Bordyuzhin, J. Bouchet, J. D. Brandenburg, A. V. Brandin, I. Bunzarov, J. Butterworth, H. Caines, M. Calderón De La Barca Sánchez, J. M. Campbell, D. Cebra, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present measurements of second-order azimuthal anisotropy (υ₂) at midrapidity (|y| < 1.0) for light nuclei d, t, ³He (for ⎷^s_NN = 200 GeV) in the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) experiment. The υ₂ for these light nuclei produced in heavy-ion collisions is compared with those for p and p¯. We observe mass ordering in nuclei υ₂ (p_T) at low transverse momenta (p_T < 2.0 GeV/c). We also find a centrality dependence of υ₂ for d and d¯. The magnitude of υ₂ for t and ³He …

Nucleon Decay, Atmospheric Neutrinos, And Cosmic Rays At Dune: September 2016 Progress Report, E. Church, D. Dwyer, H. Gallagher, M. Goodman, R. Hatcher, J. Hewes, A. Higuera, V. A. Kudryavtsev, L. Lin, N. Martinez, H. Méndez, J. L. Raaf, M. Robinson, G. Santucci, M. Sorel, A. Tonazzo, T. K. Warburton, K. Wood, T. Yang

Progress Reports

We report on the progress made within the Nucleon Decay, Atmospheric Neutrinos, and Cosmogenics Physics Working Groups since the DUNE CDR, and in particular in the period September 2015 { September 2016. This note is also intended to provide input for the September 2016 Preliminary Report of the Far Detector Task Force. We report jointly for the three WGs since they are tightly coupled. They make use of the same DUNE Far Detector for their physics studies, they share the same energy regime, and they are all characterized by random, non-beam triggers. Finally, cosmogenic events are a background for atmospheric …

Beam-Energy Dependence Of Charge Balance Functions From Au+Au Collisions At Energies Available At The Bnl Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, L. Adamczyk, James K. Adkins, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, G. S. Averichev, A. Banerjee, R. Bellwied, A. Bhasin, A. K. Bhati, P. Bhattarai, J. Bielcik, J. Bielcikova, L. C. Bland, I. G. Bordyuzhin, J. Bouchet, A. V. Brandin, I. Bunzarov, T. P. Burton, J. Butterworth, H. Caines, M. Calderón De La Barca Sánchez, J. M. Campbell, D. Cebra, M. C. Cervantes, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Balance functions have been measured in terms of relative pseudorapidity (Δη) for charged particle pairs at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider from Au + Au collisions at √^s_NN = 7.7GeV to 200 GeV using the STAR detector. These results are compared with balance functions measured at the CERN Large Hadron Collider from Pb + Pb collisions at √^s_NN = 2.76 TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The width of the balance function decreases as the collisions become more central and as the beam energy is increased. In contrast, the widths of the balance functions …

The Rise Of Nuclear Energy In Arab States: Future Impacts, Brittany Broder

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The signing of the Iranian nuclear deal during the Summer of 2015 highlighted the threat of nuclear proliferation from foreign powers, but largely overlooked the rise of nuclear energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). With growing energy demands and heightened environmental regulations, countries in this region are turning to nuclear power to fuel their next generation. However, the rise of nuclear power in the MENA region holds serious implications for the future of the area’s energy, economic, and social reforms that have largely gone unexplored as a whole thus far. The purpose of this thesis is to …

Protophobic Fifth-Force Interpretation Of The Observed Anomaly In 8Be Nuclear Transitions, Jonathan L. Feng, Bartosz Fornal, Iftah Galon, Susan Gardner, Jordan Smolinsky, Tim M. P. Tait, Philip Tanedo

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Recently a 6.8σ anomaly has been reported in the opening angle and invariant mass distributions of e⁺e⁻ pairs produced in ⁸Be nuclear transitions. The data are explained by a 17 MeV vector gauge boson X that is produced in the decay of an excited state to the ground state, ⁸Be^∗ → ⁸Be X, and then decays through X → e⁺e⁻. The X boson mediates a fifth force with a characteristic range of 12 fm and has millicharged couplings to up and down quarks and electrons, and a …

0+ States In 130,132Xe: A Search For E(5) Behavior, Erin E. Peters, T. J. Ross, S. F. Ashley, Anagha Chakraborty, Benjamin P. Crider, M. D. Hennek, Sinong Liu, Marcus T. Mcellistrem, Sharmistha Mukhopadhyay, Francisco M. Prados-Estévez, Anthony Paul Ramirez, J. S. Thrasher, Steven W. Yates

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The level structures of ^130,132Xe were studied with the inelastic neutron scattering reaction followed by γ-ray detection. Level lifetimes were measured using the Doppler-shift attenuation method and low-lying excited states in these nuclei were characterized. With a focus on the decay properties of the 0⁺ states, these nuclei were examined as representations of the E(5) critical-point symmetry.

Evaluating The Risk To Ostomy Patients Working With Uranium Using The Icrp Biokinetic Model For The Gastrointestinal Tract, Sara Taylor

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The ICRP has published two biokinetic models providing a basis for radiation dose assessment due toradionuclides incorporated inside the gastrointestinal tract. These models are a sufficient tool to assess the committed dose equivalent for occupational exposures to workers assuming normal anatomy. The colostomy is becoming a more prevalent procedure. A colostomy permanently or temporarily bypasses a portion of colon to allow rest and healing. There are four different colostomies; ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid and an ileostomy. As a patient’s strength returns, they can return to normal daily activities, including returning to work. Therefore, as an ostomy patient returns to …

Measurement Of Neutron Activation From A High Energy Varian Linear Accelerator, Timothy Thatcher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Linear accelerators producing photons above 10 MeV may induce photonuclear reactions in high Z components of the accelerator. These liberated neutrons can then activate the structural components of the accelerator and other materials in the beam path through neutron capture reactions. The induced activity within the accelerator may contribute to additional dose to both patients and personnel. This project seeks to determine the total activity and activity per activated isotope following irradiation from a Varian medical linear accelerator at energies above 10 MeV. A Varian 21iX accelerator was used to irradiate a 30 cm x 30 cm x 20 cm …

Near-Side Azimuthal And Pseudorapidity Correlations Using Neutral Strange Baryons And Mesons In D+Au, Cu+Cu, And Au+Au Collisions At √SNn = 200 Gev, B. Abelev, L. Adamczyk, James K. Adkins, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, M. U. Ashraf, A. Attri, G. S. Averichev, X. Bai, V. Bairathi, L. S. Barnby, R. Bellwied, A. Bhasin, A. K. Bhati, P. Bhattarai, J. Bielcik, J. Bielcikova, L. C. Bland, M. Bombara, I. G. Bordyuzhin, J. Bouchet, J. D. Brandenburg, A. V. Brandin, I. Bunzarov, J. Butterworth, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present measurements of the near side of triggered di-hadron correlations using neutral strange baryons (Λ, Λ⁻) and mesons (K⁰_S) at intermediate transverse momentum (3 < p_T < 6 GeV/c) to look for possible flavor and baryon-meson dependence. This study is performed in d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at √^S_NN = 200 GeV measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The near-side di-hadron correlation contains two structures, a peak which is narrow in azimuth and pseudorapidity consistent with correlations from jet fragmentation, and a correlation in azimuth which is broad in pseudorapidity. The …

Verifying The Implementation Of An Anisotropic Grain Boundary Energy Model In Idaho National Lab’S Marmot, John-Michael H. Bradley, Evan D. Hansen, Jarin C. French, Yongfeng Zhang (Mentor)

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

This work aims to verify the correct implementation of an anisotropic grain boundary (GB) energy model for face-centered cubic (FCC) and fluorite materials in Idaho National Laboratory’s phase field fuel performance code MARMOT. The model was recently implemented in MARMOT with the purpose of enabling higher fidelity simulations of UO₂ nuclear fuels. As part of verification, tests were performed to measure the energy dependence on misorientation of high symmetry GBs in an FCC metal (Cu). The energies of the [100], [110], and [111] twist boundaries result as predicted, as do the energies of the [111] symmetric tilt boundaries. However, …

Precision Measurement Of The Radiative Β Decay Of The Free Neutron, M. J. Bales, R. Alarcon, C. D. Bass, E. J. Beise, H. Breuer, J. Byrne, T. E. Chupp, K. J. Coakley, R. L. Cooper, M. S. Dewey, Susan Gardner, T. R. Gentile, D. He, H. P. Mumm, J. S. Nico, B. O'Neill, A. K. Thompson, F. E. Wietfeldt

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The standard model predicts that, in addition to a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, a continuous spectrum of photons is emitted in the β decay of the free neutron. We report on the RDK II experiment which measured the photon spectrum using two different detector arrays. An annular array of bismuth germanium oxide scintillators detected photons from 14 to 782 keV. The spectral shape was consistent with theory, and we determined a branching ratio of 0.00335 ± 0.00005[stat] ± 0.00015[syst]. A second detector array of large area avalanche photodiodes directly detected photons from 0.4 to 14 keV. For this …

J/Ψ Production At Low Transverse Momentum In P + P And D + Au Collisions At √SNn = 200 Gev, L. Adamczyk, James K. Adkins, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, A. Attri, G. S. Averichev, X. Bai, V. Bairathi, R. Bellwied, A. Bhasin, A. K. Bhati, P. Bhattarai, J. Bielcik, J. Bielcikova, L. C. Bland, I. G. Bordyuzhin, J. Bouchet, J. D. Brandenburg, A. V. Brandin, I. Bunzarov, J. Butterworth, H. Caines, M. Calderón De La Barca Sánchez, J. M. Campbell, D. Cebra, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report on the measurement of J/ψ production in the dielectron channel at midrapidity (|y| < 1) in p + p and d + Au collisions at √^s_NN = 200 GeV from the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The transverse momentum p_Tspectra in p + p for p_T < 4 GeV/c and d + Au collisions for p_T < 3 GeV/c are presented. These measurements extend the STAR coverage for J/ψ production in p + p collisions to low p_T. The ⟨p²_T⟩ from the measured J/ψ invariant …

Suppression Of High Transverse Momentum Charged Hadrons In Au+Au Collisions At 200 Gev Nucleon-Nucleon Center Of Mass Energy, Jason B. Bryslawskyj

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dynamical properties of quark gluon plasma are studied in heavy ion collisions. Gold ions are accelerated with the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and collided at energies up to 200 GeV per nucleon. Collision products and their properties are detected and measured with the PHENIX detector. At these energies the colliding ions may form a thermalized distribution of quarks and gluons called the Quark-Gluon Plasma. The suppression of single hadrons still provides one of the strongest constraints on energy loss mechanisms in the Quark-Gluon Plasma. Presently, neutral pions provide the best measurement at RHIC of …

Measurements Of Photon Beam Intensity At The High Intensity Gamma-Ray Source (Higs) Facility For Astrophysically Relevant Photodisintegration Reaction Cross Section, Evan G. Meekins

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

How nuclear reactions in stars and stellar explosions such as supernovae have forged the elements out of hydrogen and helium leftover from the Big Bang is a longstanding, still timely research topic in nuclear astrophysics. Although there is a fairly complete understanding of the production of the chemical elements and their isotopes up to iron by nuclear fusion in stars, important details concerning the production of the elements from iron to uranium remain puzzling. Current knowledge is that the nucleosynthesis beyond iron proceeds mainly via neutron capture reactions and subsequent electron decays to stability. However, some 35 proton-rich stable isotopes, …

Neutron-Gamma Discrimination In Elpasolite Scintillator Detector, Brittany Morgan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Existing nuclear stockpiles and weapons-making capabilities imperil the global community. Current nonproliferation efforts involve the research and development of newer, more efficient detection systems that can be deployed for the interdiction and monitoring of special nuclear materials (SNM). Spontaneous and induced fission events in SNM produce neutrons and gamma rays, which can be detected and analyzed, in particular, using scintillator detectors. Various electronic data acquisition systems and data analysis methods have been employed to record and characterize neutron and photon signatures. The goal of this thesis is to develop a new method of discrimination between neutrons and photons in the …

Mcnp6 Computational-Based Sensitivity Propagation Analysis Of Continuous Neutron Cross-Sections Using The Godiva (Hmf-001) And The Godiver (Hmf-004) Benchmark Criticality Study Cases, Lawrence James Lakeotes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There has been a reduction in funding for theoretical and applied research for improving the nation's database of continuous neutron cross-sections at BNL-NNDC. From 1940 through the late 1980s, research and applied development produced volumes of reliable neutron continuous cross-sections for many isotopes. Currently, the cross-section work has been mainly computational. The focus of this research is mainly centered on the requirements for improving thermal cross-sections to support reactor operations and fuel storage. The research efforts will also helpfully aid in the fast fission spectrum in order to support fast reactor designs for improving safety analysis and feedback coefficients.

This …

Measurement Of The Transverse Single-Spin Asymmetry In P↑+P→W±/Z0 At Rhic, L. Adamczyk, James K. Adkins, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, A. Attri, G. S. Averichev, X. Bai, V. Bairathi, A. Banerjee, R. Bellwied, A. Bhasin, A. K. Bhati, P. Bhattarai, J. Bielcik, J. Bielcikova, L. C. Bland, I. G. Bordyuzhin, J. Bouchet, J. D. Brandenburg, A. V. Brandin, I. Bunzarov, J. Butterworth, H. Caines, M. Calderón De La Barca Sánchez, J. M. Campbell, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the measurement of the transverse single-spin asymmetry of weak boson production in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions at √s = 500  GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The measured observable is sensitive to the Sivers function, one of the transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions, which is predicted to have the opposite sign in proton-proton collisions from that observed in deep inelastic lepton-proton scattering. These data provide the first experimental investigation of the nonuniversality of the Sivers function, fundamental to our understanding of QCD.

An Old And New Start To Russian—United States Nuclear Arms Control Agreements, Samantha Pitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Russian Federation and the United States of America signed on April 8, 2010 the New START nuclear arms control treaty. The New START treaty replaced the lackluster SORT treaty in order to establish a nuclear agreement that would put new limits on numbers of weapons and delivery vehicles while also establishing an innovative framework for transparency and data transfer to allow confidence building between two countries that have not always seen eye-to-eye. Through academic analysis, treaty text, and four formal interviews, the context and trajectory of Russian-United States’ arms control treaties has formed to portray New START as a …