This study is aimed at investigating the feasibility of using the radiometric technique as an alternative to traditional methods for determining soil physico-chemical parameters which are important for terroir characterization. In-situ and ex-situ radiometric analyses of soil from three vineyard blocks of Simonsig Wine Estate in the Stellenbosch district (Western Cape, South Africa) were studied. A mobile MEDUSA gamma-ray detection system comprising a CsI(Na) crystal (length 15 cm, diameter 7 cm) and associated electronics mounted on a portable trolley were used for partial terroir characterisation. Thereafter activity concentrations of 40K, 232Th series and 238U series in soil (top ~30 cm) from the measured MEDUSA spectra (0 – 3 MeV) were extracted by means of the full-spectrum analysis (FSA) method. A lead-shielded HPGe detector was used for analyzing collected soil samples while soil physico-chemical parameters were analysed using standard methods at research and commercial laboratories.

The accurate and efficient simulation of coupled neutron-photon problems is necessary for several important radiation detection applications. Examples include the detection of nuclear threats concealed in cargo containers and prompt gamma neutron activation analysis for nondestructive determination of elemental composition of unknown samples. In these applications, high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers are used to preserve as much information as possible about the emitted photon flux, which consists of both continuum and characteristic gamma rays with discrete energies. Monte Carlo transport is the most commonly used modeling tool for this type of problem, but computational times for many problems can be prohibitive. This work explored the use of coupled Monte Carlo-deterministic methods for the simulation of neutron-induced photons for high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. A method was developed for the implementation of coupled neutron-photon problems into RAdiation Detection Scenario Analysis Toolbox (RADSAT), a computer code that couples the complementary strengths of discrete-ordinate and Monte Carlo approaches to obtain high-resolution detector responses. Central to this work was the development of a method for generating multi-group neutron-photon cross-sections in a way that separates the discrete and continuum photon emissions so that the key signatures in neutron activation analysis (i.e., the characteristic line energies) are preserved. The mechanics of the cross-section preparation method are described and contrasted with standard neutron-gamma cross-section sets. These custom cross-sections were then applied to several benchmark problems using the method developed in this work. Multi-group results for neutron and photon flux are compared to MCNP results. Finally, calculated responses of high-resolution spectrometers were compared. The added computational efficiency of the coupled Monte Carlo-deterministic method and the positive agreement achieved in the code-to-code verification make the integration of the coupled neutron-photon method into RADSAT a promising endeavor.

Neutron-rich rare-earth nuclei are among the most collective nuclei that can be found in nature. In particular, the doubly mid-shell nucleus 170Dy is expected to be the nucleus where the collective structure is maximized. This has implications for the astrophysical r-process, since it has been suggested that the collectivity maximum plays an important role in the abundances of the rare-earth elements that are created in supernova explosions. In this work, the collective structure of the five nuclei 168,170Dy and 167,168,169Ho are studied and different theoretical models are used to interpret the evolution of collectivity around the mid-shell. In order to produce and study even more neutron-rich nuclei in this mass region, new radioactive ion beam facilities will be a valuable tool. These facilities, however, require advanced instruments to study the weak signals of exotic nuclei in a high background environment. Two of these instruments are the γ-ray tracking spectrometer AGATA and the neutron detector array NEDA. For AGATA to work satisfactorily, the interaction position of the gamma rays must be determined with an accuracy of at least five millimetres. The position resolution is measured in this work using a model independent method based on the Doppler correction capabilities of the detector at two different distances between the detector and the source. For NEDA, one of the critical parameters is its ability to discriminate between neutrons and γ rays. By using digital electronics it is possible to employ advanced and efficient algorithms for pulse-shape discrimination. In this work, digital versions of the common analogue methods are shownto give as good, or better, results compared to the ones obtained using analogue electronics. Another method which effectively distinguishes between neutrons and γ rays is based on artificial neural networks. This method is also investigated in this work and is shown to yield even better results.

Exotic pine plantations are a major landuse within the coastal lowlands of southeast Queensland, extending from close to the shoreline to the hinterland ranges. These plantations are within a sub-tropical climatic zone, and in most years, the summers are appreciably wetter than the winters. This terrain, in general, has been highly weathered and the soils are poor in nutrients. Environmental factors such as the climate, topography and weathering profile (including soil) are found to be important controls on vadose zone hydrology, which, in turn, has a great impact on tree growth and consequently on the design of management practices. This research project takes a holistic approach to investigate the influence of these environmental factors at different scales, and is designed to fulfil the following objectives: (1) To build a spatial model of forest productivity for the entire Tuan Toolara State Forest (TTSF), southeast Queensland, by analysing the spatial patterns of many environmental variables that may have controls on soil water distribution. (2) To determine how some of these environmental factors are responsible for the development of water-logging and soil salinisation by examining in detail an area of low site index that is severely affected by these two processes. (3) To develop a model to assess the risks of water-logging spatially and temporally. A multiple regression model was constructed to predict the forest productivity (measured by the value of site index, the average dominant tree height at 25 years of age). The independent variables were derived from a digital elevation model (elevation, slope, curvature, hillshade, flow accumulation and distance to streams), γ-ray spectrometry (potassium, thorium and uranium), and interpolated rainfall. The model explained up to 60% of the variance in the site indices and produced predictive maps of site index for two species: P. elliottii Engelm. and Queensland hybrid, a P. elliottii × P. caribaea Morelet hybrid. The model also identified the lowest site index area at the northern Tuan State Forest (NTSF), likely due to a greater risk of water-logging and salinisation. The NTSF area is of low relief and, therefore, the focus has been on the vertical controls of deep weathering profile. The methodology included setting up a network of groundwater bores screened at different depths within the weathering profile, characterising the profile (mineralogy, EC, and pH) and the groundwaters within it (water levels, physico-chemical parameters, major and minor ions). It is found that water-logging is caused by perched groundwater formed on top of the ferricrete or mottled saprolite after prolonged rainfall. Localised salinisation is related to the discharge of brackish groundwater occurring within the mottled saprolite. The deep aquifer within the coarse saprolite is fresh and not responsible for salinisation, a situation that differs from many other settings in Australia. The ability of using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) computer model to simulate soil water balance and to assess the risks of water-logging was tested in a selected catchment in the TTSF. The model successfully simulated stream flow at 2 weirs for a period of 6 years; the achieved R2 were 0.752 and 0.858, respectively. Long-term simulation for a 30-year period showed that there are pronounced seasonal patterns in rainfall and evapotranspiration as well as in soil water. For mature plantation with slopes of 3-15%, the mean annual duration of water-logging ranged from 161 days in the humus podzols, to 110 days in the gleyed podzolic, and to 90 days in the yellow podzolics. The outcomes of this research suggest that forest management can be strongly supported by understanding the impacts of these environmental factors (e.g. climate, topography and weathering profile) on vadose zone hydrological processes; the selection of optimum approach will depend on the research objective or purpose. The models and analytical tools that were developed or tested here have the potential to be successfully applied elsewhere if the input data are available.

For about 20 years now, observations of 6Li in several old metal-poor stars inside the halo of our galaxy have been reported, which are largely independent of the stars’ metallicity, and which point to a possible primordial origin. The observations exceed the predictions of the Standard Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis model by a factor of 500. In the relevant energy range, no directly measured S-factors were available yet for the main production reaction 2H(α,γ)6Li, while different theoretical estimations have an uncertainty of up to two orders of magnitude. The very small cross section in the picobarn range has been measured with a deuterium gas target at the LUNA acceler- ator (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics), located deep underground inside Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. A beam-induced, neutron-caused background in the γ-detector occurred which had to be analyzed carefully and sub- tracted in an appropriate way, to finally infer the weak signal of the reaction. For this purpose, a method to parameterize the Compton background has been developed. The results are a contribution to the discussion about the accuracy of the recent 6Li observations, and to the question if it is necessary to include new physics into the Standard Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis model.

Voilà plus d'un siècle que Victor Hess a montré l'origine cosmique de ce mystérieux rayonnement ionisant, et pourtant ce dernier n'a pas fini de livrer tous ces secrets. En deçà d'une énergie de l'ordre du PeV, les vestiges de supernovae sont les candidats les plus sérieux pour rendre compte de l'accélération de ces particules cosmiques. Si toutefois cette hypothèse demeure toujours d'actualité, alors qu'auparavant on le considérait comme un événement isolé dans la Galaxie, on constate plutôt aujourd'hui que ces explosions d'étoiles massives surviennent majoritairement au sein de grandes structures galactiques nommées superbulles. Ces objets sont formés par la combinaison des forts vents stellaires issus des étoiles massives ainsi que de plusieurs supernovae, tout ceci regroupé dans un espace de quelques dizaines ou centaines de parsecs.On peut dès lors se poser la question suivante : est-il possible que des amas d'étoiles jeunes, n'ayant pas encore connu d'épisode de supernova, puissent être des accélérateurs cosmiques.Pour ce type d'investigation, l'astronomie gamma est aux premières loges puisque contrairement au rayonnement cosmique chargé, ce type de messager céleste n'est pas dévié dans son voyage depuis la source jusqu'à nous.L'objet de ce travail est ainsi d'évaluer la possibilité pour ces amas d'étoiles jeunes, de recycler une partie de l'énergie mécanique transférée au milieu interstellaire dans l'accélération de particules et partant, dans l'émission d'un rayonnement non-thermique. Cette étude propose, à partir d'un spectre d'injection pour des particules chargées (proton et/ou électrons), de modéliser l'émission non-thermique attendue considérant les pertes que celles-ci subissent. Un catalogue d'amas potentiellement prometteurs est dressé ainsi qu'un classement de ceux-ci au regard du flux de gamma attendu. Une analyse des données des télescopes H.E.S.S. est conduite pour un certain nombre d'amas sélectionnés. Ce réseau de télescopes Cherenkov situé en Namibie est le plus performant dans sa catégorie. Il est dédié à l'observation des rayons gamma de très haute énergie.Une analyse des données du Fermi-LAT ont également été effectuées. Il s'agit cette fois d'un satellite dédié à la partie des hautes énergies du rayonnement gamma.Enfin, on contraint les paramètres de notre modèle grâce aux résultats issus de ces analyses.L'expérience H.E.S.S., qui a fonctionné à 4 télescopes dès 2003, est depuis 2012 au tout début de sa deuxième phase consistant en l'ajout d'un cinquième télescope de plus grand diamètre. On montre ici, grâce à des simulations de gerbes, la nécessité pour ce télescope de disposer d'un système de focus permettant l'ajustement de la distance caméra-miroirs conduisant à de meilleures performances (taux de déclenchement, résolution angulaire). / More than one century ago, Victor Hess discovered the cosmical origin of the mysterious ionizing radiation. Yet, nowadays it still has a lot of secrets for us. Roughly below the PeV energy, the best candidates already proposed in 1934 were the supernovae remnants (SNR). These candidates still remain ; in the past we considered isolated SNRs, while today we rather think about SNRs inside big structures as superbubbles. These objects are formed by powerful stellar winds from massive stars combined with several SNRs gathered in a space of some decades or hundreds of parsecs. Observations show that the majority of the SNRs occurs in such regions. The point for us is to know if star clusters or associations of massive stars, not hosting any SNR, could also accelerate particles to very high energies and consequently emit gamma-rays.The gamma-ray astronomy is relevant in order to solve this type of riddle because the Very High Energy photons do not suffer of any deviation due to the Galactic magnetic field. It means that we can get informations from the source itself by detecting the gamma-ray radiation.In our study we assume that a part of the mechanical energy transferred to the interstellar medium can be used to accelerate charged particles, which will emit non-thermal radiations.First we assume a given injection spectrum (for electrons and/or protons), then we model the non-thermal emission expected considering particles losses.We deliver a catalogue of promising clusters and we rank them according to the expected strength of the gamma-ray flux.We conducted the analysis of H.E.S.S. data collected toward some selected clusters. The H.E.S.S. experiment is situated in Namibia and is the most efficient array of Cherenkov telescopes. We also used the Fermi-LAT public data. Fermi is a space-based telescope for High Energy gamma ray.Then we constrain our model with the obtained analysis results.The H.E.S.S. experiment had initially 4 telescopes in operation since 2003. In 2012, the second phase of the experiment started when a fifth larger one was added. We show here that it is relevant for this telescope to use a focus system in order to move the camera and change the distance camera-mirrors. The simulations show that the focus system leads to better performances (trigger rate, angular resolution).

Mediu-se a seção de choque de ionização da camada K de átomos de Au e Bi por impacto de elétrons com energias entre os respectivos potenciais de ionização (80 e 90 keV) e 100 keV. Filmes finos de Au e Bi, evaporados em suportes de filmes finos de C, foram posicionados numa câmara de vácuo perpendicularmente ao feixe de elétrons do sistema injetor do Mícrotron da Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil. Os raios x emitidos num ângulo de 120 graus em relação à direção do feixe de elétrons foram observados com um detetor de HPGe planar, cuja eficiência total de pico foi determinada com fontes radioativas de atividades conhecidas. Para cada energia de feixe, a seção de choque experimental de produção de raios x foi determinada com base nas áreas dos picos $K\\alpha_{2,1}$ característicos, na área do espectro de bremsstrahlung próxima ao \"tip\" e na seção de choque duplamente diferencial de produção de bremsstrahlung teórica. Valores tabelados de fluorescence yield e taxa de emissão de raios x foram empregados para converter seções de choque de produção de raios x em seções de choque de ionização. Os resultados experimentais obtidos são ligeiramente maiores do que os resultados de cálculos recentes baseados na aproximação de Bohr com ondas distorcidas. No caso do Au, os poucos resultados encontrados na literatura para energias próximas ao limiar de ionização diferem entre si quase por um fator 4 a 100 keV, e a seção de choque obtida neste trabalho se encontra próxima do valor médio desses dados. Por outro lado, este experimento fornece as primeiras medições da seção de choque de ionização da camada K do Bi para energias menores que 2 MeV. / The cross sections for the ionization of the K shells of Au and Bi atoms by electrons with energies from 100 keV down to the respective thresholds (80 and 90 keV) were measured. To this end, thin films of Au and Bi, evaporated on very thin C backings, were positioned in a vacuum chamber perpendicularly to the electron beam delivered by the the microtron injector at the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. The x-rays emitted at an angle of 120 degrees relative to the beam direction were observed with a planar HPGe detector, whose full-energy peak efficiency curve had been determined using radioactive sources of known activities. For each beam energy, the experimental x-ray production cross section was determined using the area of the characteristic $K\\alpha_{2,1}$ peaks, the area of the spectrum in an energy interval close to the bremsstrahlung tip and the theoretical doubly-differential bremsstrahlung cross section. Tabulated fluorescence yields and x-ray emission rates were employed to convert x-ray production to ionization cross sections. The obtained experimental values for the K shells of the studied atoms are slightly larger than that of recent calculations carried out within the distorted-wave Born approximation. In the case of Au, the few measurements reported in the literature at energies close to the threshold differ by almost a factor of 4 at 100 keV, and our cross sections lie between those older data. On the other hand, the present experiment provides the first cross section measurements for the K shell ionization of Bi below 2 MeV.

Orientadores: Alvaro Penteado Crosta, Hartmut Beurlen / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T18:20:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_SebastiaoMiltonPinheiroda_D.pdf: 16585343 bytes, checksum: 70c3444445e77b34a0b4aa6c35c60fd3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Neste estudo foram utilizados dados de espectroscopia de reflectância (ER), imagens dos sensores Terra/ASTER e EO-1/Hyperion e dados de gamaespectrometria aérea e terrestre para caracterização espectromineralógica e gamaespectrométrica de pegmatitos e granitos pegmatíticos da porção sul da PPB. Por meio da ER foi possível caracterizar fases e misturas de fases minerais que compõem essas rochas, incluindo caulinita, muscovita, illita/sericita e turmalina em pegmatitos do tipo homogêneo. A aplicação da análise por principais componentes aos dados Terra/ASTER através da técnica Crósta resultou em um mapa exibindo a mineralogia principal dos pegmatitos homogêneos e heterogêneos da área de estudo, bem como dos quartzitos da Formação Equador, biotita xistos da Formação Seridó, além de coberturas superficiais limonitizadas associadas. No pegmatito do Alto do Giz, selecionado para um estudo detalhado, foram identificadas por meio da ER fases, e misturas de fases, de caulinita, illita/sericita, lepidolita, mica sódica, muscovita, cookeíta e turmalina, cujas associações contribuiram para definir uma zona litinífera (cookeita+lepidolita) nas bordas dos núcleos de quartzo N2 e N3 e o zoneamento interno do pegmatito. Com base nesses resultados é proposta sua classificação como do tipo complexo, sub-classe espodumênio. Além disso, foram reconhecidos pelo menos três estágios de sua evolução: um primeiro relacionado à cristalização de espodumênio, um outro de natureza hidrotermal, que deu origem à cookeita e, finalmente, e um terceiro estágio de caulinização ligado a processo hidrotermal e/ou supergênico. A análise e classificação espectral da imagem do sensor EO-1/Hyperion possibilitou mapear a distribuição das zonas do pegmatito Alto do Giz utilizando os minerais muscovita, caulinita e mica sódica como indicadores das distintas zonas. Com dados do aerolevantamento gamaespectrométrico do Projeto Seridó, reprocessados e reinterpretados utilizando métodos modernos, com apoio da gamaespectrometria terrestre, foi possível discriminar os quartzitos das regiões norte e sul da área de estudos, em função de suas distintas assinaturas do tório (eTh) e da razão eTh/K, bem como caracterizar os granitos pegmatíticos por meio das razões dos canais eU/eTh e eU/K. As imagens do tório (eTh) e da razão eTh/K permitiram identificar metaconglomerados e metarenitos ricos em minerais pesados, intercalados nos quartzitos da Formação Equador, e propor um novo tipo de mineralização torífera na Faixa Seridó. Determinações com MEV-EDS revelaram teores máximos de 79,4% de ThO2 e 87,7% de ETR (Ce, La, Nd) em monazitas; 99,2% de TiO2 em rutilo e 1,81% de HfO2 em zircão. Esses resultados demonstraram o destacado potencial para caracterização e mapeamento de granitos pegmatíticos da PPB com base em dados coletados há várias décadas e de baixa resolução espacial. O detalhamento realizado no granito Galo Branco por meio da coleta de dados de gamaespectrometria terrestre, dosagens radiométricas e determinações químicas por ICP-MS indicaram teores de 0,47 ppm a 7,8 ppm de urânio, de 0,1 ppm a 21 ppm de tório e de 2% a 5,24% de potássio. Essas concentrações irregularmente distribuídas sugerem mudanças de conteúdo e concentração de minerais acessórios durante os estágios de diferenciação e cristalização magmática desse granito. A ocorrência de diques de pegmatitos encaixados em quartzitos ao sul do granito Galo Branco foi revelada por meio das elevadas razões eU/eTh. / Abstract: Reflectance spectroscopy (ER), Terra/ASTER and EO-1/Hyperion images, and ground and aerial gamma ray data were employed for mineral characterization of pegmatites and pegmatitic granites in the southern portion of the BPP. ER results allowed to characterize mineral phases and mixtures of minerals including kaolinite, illite/sericite, muscovite and turmaline (schorl) in homogeneous pegmatites. Principal component analysis were applied to Terra/ASTER data using the Crósta techique, resulting in a map exhibiting the main mineralogy of homogeneous and heterogeneous pegmatites, as well as quartzites of the Equador Fm. biotite schists of the Serido Fm. and iron-rich superficial deposits. The Alto do Giz pegmatite was selected for a detailed study and mineral phases comprising kaolinite, muscovite, illite/sericite, Na- and Li-bearing micas, cookeite and tourmaline were recognized, allowing to define a lLi-rich zone (cookeite+lepidolite) around nuclei N2 and N3 and to establish the internal zoning of the pegmatite. Based on these results we proposed its classification as a complex-type pegmatite, of the spodumene sub-class. Furthermore, at least three evolution stages have been establish for Alto do Giz: an early stage represented by the primary crystallization of spodumene, followed by hydrothermal alteration that originated cookeite, and later stage comprising intense kaolinization originated from hydrothermal and/or supergenic processes. The analysis and spectral classification of the EO-1 Hyperion data allowed to map the spatial distribution of the distinct zones, based on the occurrence of key minerals such as muscovite, kaolinite, and Na-bearing mica. Using the airborne gamma ray data of the Seridó Aerogeophysical Project, reprocessed and reinterpreted using modern techniques, and using ground gamma data as a support, it was possible to distinguish quartzites from the north and south portions of the BPP based on their distinctive Th contents and on the eTh/K ratio, as well as to characterize pegmatitic granites using the ratios eU/eTh and eU/eK. Th and eTh/K images allowed the identification of metarenites and metaconglomerates bearing significative amounts of heavy minerals, thus revealing a new type of mineralization in the Serido Belt. Semi-quantitative scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed up to 79.4% of ThO2 and 87.7% of REE in monazites; up to 99.2% of TiO2 in rutile and up to 1.81% of HfO2 in zircon. These results indicated the potential of the methodology employed in this work for the characterization of pegmatitic granites and pegmatites in the Borborema Pegmatitic Province (BPP) using low spatial resolution airborne geophysical data collected decades ago. The detailed study of the Galo Branco granite with ground gamma ray data and radiometric and ICP-MS laboratory analysis showed that this granite has U grades of 0.47 ppm to 7.8 ppm, Th between 0.1 ppm and 21.0 ppm and K between 2.00% e 5.24%. These concentrations are irregularly distributed suggesting mineralogical changes in contents and concentration of accessory minerals during magmatic crystallization and differentiation stages of this granite. The occurrence of pegmatites dikes intruding the quartzites to the south of the Galo Branco granite was revealed by the eUe/Th ratio since they are relatively enriched in uranium. / Doutorado / Geologia e Recursos Naturais / Doutor em Geociências

Radio emission from pulsars is believed to originate from charged particles streaming along the open magnetic field lines, radiating within a narrow cone at each of the two magnetic poles. In each rotation of the star, the emission beam sweeping across the observer’s line of sight, is seen as a pulse of radio emission. Average pulse profiles integrated over several hundreds of individual pulses, along with polarization information, reveal the viewing geometry and various emission properties(e.g., emission in multiple cones, frequency dependence of the emission altitude, notches in the average profiles, etc.), and provide some clues about the possible emission mechanisms. The sequence of individual pulses generally exhibit richer details, e.g., pulse-nulling, variety of subpulse drifting, polarization mode-changing, micro-structure and giant pulse emission, etc., and seem to be more crucial and promising in probing the underlying physical processes. The physical understanding of many of the above properties and phenomena is still far from complete. In first two parts of this thesis, we address a few of these aspects, and probe related details by mapping the pulsar polar emission patterns, while in the last part, we present our searches for dispersed signals(periodic as well as transient) at very low frequencies. More specifically, Part-I makes use of the present understanding of drifting subpulses phenomenon to reconstruct the emission patterns in nearly complete polar cap region of the pulsar B1237+25, and addresses the origin of emission in multiple cones using these reconstructed emission maps. In Part-II, we discuss a need for new instrumentation primarily motivated by the need for tomographic studies of pulsar polar emission regions. We report the consequent design and development of a novel, self-contained multi-band receiver (MBR)system, intended for use with a single large aperture to facilitate sensitive and high time-resolution observations simultaneously in 10 discrete frequency bands sampling a wide spectral span(100–1500MHz) in a nearly log-periodic fashion. Part-III presents our deep searches designed to detect radio transient as well as periodic signals from the (so far) “radio-quiet” gamma-ray pulsars — a population of radio silent pulsars recently discovered using the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi-satellite. Brief descriptions of the issues addressed in the three parts of the thesis, along with a summary of respective results, is as follows. 1. Origin of Radio Emission in Multiple Cones Many pulsars exhibit systematic variations in position and intensity of their subpulses, a phenomenon now well known as “subpulse drifting”. Ruderman & Sutherland(1975) suggested this regular modulation to be a manifestation of a carousel of “spark” discharges in the acceleration zone of the star, circulating around the magnetic axis because of the E×B drift. In the qualitative framework of the above carousel model, the coherent modulation in a subpulse sequence can be mapped back to the underlying pattern of sub-beams/emission-columns (see, for example, Deshpande & Rankin, 1999). However, the completeness with which the underlying configuration of sub-beams can be sampled depends on how close our line of sight approaches the magnetic axis. The bright pulsar B1237+25 has a special viewing geometry where the sightline traverses almost through the magnetic axis, thus providing an excellent opportunity to map and study the underlying patterns across the full transverse slice of its polar emission region. However, the rich variety in pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in this pulsar makes this task challenging. In Chapter 2, we present our analysis of a number of pulse-sequences from this star observed with the Arecibo telescope, wherein we search for, and use, coherent modulation in sub-sequences, to map the underlying emission patterns. The reconstructed maps provide a convenient way to study the details in multiple emission cones, and any inter-relationship between them. More specifically, we have utilized these maps to explore whether the multiple cones of this pulsar originate from a common seed pattern or not. A summary of results The results obtained from our study of B1237+25 are summarized below: 1 The underlying carousel of sparks for this pulsar appears to lack stability over long durations. The circulation period, deduced using smaller length sub-sequences, appears to vary over a large range(about18 to34 times the rotation period). 2. The emission patterns corresponding to the outer and the inner cones are found to be significantly correlated with each other, implying that the emission in the two cones share a common seed pattern of sparks. This main result is consistent with the same radio frequency emission in the two cones, originating from a common seed pattern of sparks at two different altitudes. 3 The emission patterns corresponding to the outer and the inner cones are found to be offset from each other, consistently across various sub-sequences, by about 10◦ in magnetic azimuth. This large offset indicates certainly a twist in the emission columns, and most likely in the magnetic field geometry, between the two different emission altitudes. 4. The core component also seems to share its origin with the conal counterparts. Presence of a compact, diffuse and further-in carousel of sub-beams is consistent with the observed modulation in the core component of this pulsar. The featureless spectrum observed for many core-single pulsars can be explained readily when the diffuse pattern approaches uniformity. 2.Tomography of the Pulsar Magnetosphere: Development of a Multi-band Receiver Although drifting subpulses are now routinely interpreted in the qualitative framework of the carousel model, estimation of circulation time associated with the system of emission columns has been possible so far in only a handful of pulsars, and the important details determining such configurations, their evolution across the magnetosphere, and the pattern circulation are yet to be understood. Radius-to-frequency mapping in pulsars suggests that the lower frequency emission originates farther away from the surface of the star than the higher frequency emission. Hence, the sub-beam configuration mapped at a particular frequency provides a view of a single slice of the polar emission region at the corresponding emission altitude. Mapping of the underlying emission patterns simultaneously at a number of frequencies would amount to viewing a “tomograph” of the pulsar magnetosphere. Such tomographic studies would reveal not only the evolution of sub-beams across the magnetosphere but can also provide much needed clues about the generation of the sub-beam patterns, and their possible connection with the profile/polarization mode changes observed in various pulsars. Simultaneous multi-frequency observations, which are required for many other interesting astronomical studies as well, are usually carried out by using several telescope, each observing at different frequency. Such an approach has inherent complexity in coordinating various telescopes, in addition to numerous other difficulties which limit the desired advantages of such observations. Some of these difficulties, which we faced in our attempt of carrying out simultaneous multi-frequency observations using five different telescopes, are discussed in Chapter 3. We suggest an optimum approach to carry out simultaneous multi-frequency observations, using a single large aperture. In Chapter 4, we present the design of a novel, “self-contained” multi-band receiver(MBR) system developed for this purpose. The MBR system includes a suitable feed, broadband front-end, parallel analog and digital receiver pipelines, along with appropriate monitoring, synchronization and data recording systems. When used with a large aperture, the MBR facilitates high time-resolution observations simultaneouslyin10discretefrequencybandssampling a wide spectral span(100–1500MHz) in a nearly log-periodic fashion. The raw voltage time sequences corresponding to each of the two linear polarization channels for each of the 10 spectral bands are simultaneously recorded, each sampling a bandwidth of 16 MHz at the Nyquist rate. The dual-polarization multi-band feed, a key component of the MBR, is designed to have good responses only overthe10discretebandspre-selected as relatively RFI-free, and hence provides preliminary immunity against RFI. The MBR also offers significant tunability of the center frequencies of each of the 16-MHz sub-bands separately, within the spectral spans of respective bands. Similarity of the 10 sub-band receiver chains provides desired compatibility, in addition to an easy inter-changeability of these units, if required, and an overall modularity to the system. The MBR was used with the 110 meter Green Bank Telescope to conduct test observations on a few bright continuum sources, and about 20 hours of observations on a number of bright pulsars. Using these observations, we have constructed a preliminary tomograph of the polar emission region of B0809+74, and studied the spectral evolution of emission altitudes and flux density ofB0329+54(Chapter5). Although the MBR system design is optimized for tomographic studies of pulsar polar emission regions, the simultaneous multi-frequency observations with such a system offer particular advantages in fast transient searches. The MBR is also suitable for several other astronomical investigations, e.g., studying the spectral evolution of average properties of pulsars and propagation effects, single-dish continuum studies and surveys/studies of recombination lines. 3. Searches for Decameter-wavelength Counterparts of Radio-quiet Gamma-ray Pulsars Before the launch of the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, the “radio-quiet” gamma-ray pulsar population consisted of only one pulsar ,i.e., Geminga (for example, see Bignami& Caraveo,1996; Abdo etal.,2009). High sensitivity of the Large Area Telescope(LAT) on the Fermi-satellite made it possible, for the first time, to perform blind searches for pulsars in γ-rays. Since the Fermi-operation started, the number of pulsars known to emit in γ-rays has seen an extraordinary increase — from less than 10 to 117 pulsars. About one-third of these pulsars have been discovered in blind searches of the LAT data. Despite deep radio searches, only 4 of these LAT-discovered pulsars could be detected, suggesting the rest of these to be “radio-quiet” gamma-ray pulsars. One of the possible explanations for the apparent absence of radio emission from these pulsars is that their narrow radio beams miss the line of sight towards earth (Brazier & Johnston, 1999), and hence appear as “radio-quiet”. The radius-to-frequency mapping in radio pulsars suggests that the emission beam becomes wider at low frequencies, increasing the probability of our line of sight passing through the beam. However, all of the deep searches mentioned above were carried out at higher radio frequencies(∼1GHz and above, and some at300MHz,Ray etal.,2011;Pletsch etal.,2012),and the lower frequency domain(<≈100 MHz) has remained relatively unexplored. Given the expected widening of emission beam, follow-up searches of the radio-quiet pulsars at low radiofrequencies could also be revealing. With this view, we searched the archival data of the pulsar/transient survey at 34.5 MHz, carried out using the Gauribidanur telescope during 2002-2006,for any periodic or transient dispersed signal along the direction of many of the LAT-discovered pulsars. Motivated by an intriguing possible detection of the pulsar J1732−3131 from the above search, we carried out further extensive follow-up observations and deep searches for pulsed(periodic as well as transient) radio emission from a selected sample of radio-quiet pulsars. Chapters 6 and 7 present details of our observations, detection strategies and methodologies, and interesting results obtained in a few of the target directions. The results obtained from these searches include: 1 A possible detection of periodic radio pulses from J1732−3131 was made, using the archival data, at a dispersion measure(DM) of15.44 ±0.32 pc/cc. We also detected 10 individual bright pulses in the same observing session, although marginally above the detection threshold, at a DM consistent with that associated with the periodic signal. The apparent brightness of these single pulses, and similarity of their apparent distribution in pulse-longitude with that of giant pulses in J0218+4232, suggest that these might be giant pulses. Our DM-based distance estimate, using Cordes & Lazio electron density model(2002),matches well with earlier estimates based on gamma-ray emission efficiency. 2 In our follow-up deep searches, we could not detect any readily apparent pulsed radio signal(neither periodic nor single pulses) from J1732−3131, i.e., above a detection threshold of 8σ. However, when we time-aligned and co-added data from observing sessions at 21different epochs, and dedispersed using the DM estimated from the candidate detection, the average profile shape is found to be completely consistent with that from the candidate detection. Finding the same profile shape after 10 years of the original detection suggests that the signal is unlikely to be due to RFI or a mere manifestation of random noise. 3.In a couple of the observing sessions towards the telescope pointing direction of RA=06:34:30, DEC=10◦ , we detected a few ultra-bright pulses at two different DMs of about2pc/cc and3.3 pc/cc, respectively. However, when dedispersed at the DMs suggested by the bright single pulses, no significant signal was found at the expected periodicities of our targetpulsarsJ0633+0632 andJ0633+1746,which would be in the telescope beam centered at above coordinates. Energies of these strong pulses in the two observing sessions are comparable to typical energies of giant pulses from the Crab pulsar at decameter wavelengths. 4. No significant pulsed signal(periodic or transient), above a detection threshold of 8σ,was found towards the directions of other selected radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars. Time-aligning and combining of observations at different epochs allowed us to carry out deep searches for signals at the expected periodicities of these pulsars. Despite the large background sky-temperature at decameter wavelengths, the minimum detectable flux density in our deep searches are comparable with those from previous searches at higher frequencies, when scaled using a spectral index of −2.0 and assuming no turn-over in the spectrum.

Caractérisation numérique de la technique de spectrométrie gamma par simulation Monte-Carlo : Application à la datation d'échantillons environnementaux.Résumé :Afin d'optimiser la détermination de l'activité d'échantillons environnementaux, l'étalonnage en efficacité de la chaîne spectrométrique se doit d'être de bonne qualité. Le travail de cette thèse consiste à rassembler les problématiques principales : les phénomènes d'auto-absorption et de coïncidence. Ces effets sont traités par métrologie et simulation Monte-Carlo (MCNP6), impliquant la bonne modélisation préalable de nos détecteurs. Le problème d'auto-absorption est dominant lorsque le standard utilisé pour l'étalonnage en efficacité a des caractéristiques physico-chimiques différentes des échantillons. Un étalonnage numérique semble plus approprié et nous l'appliquons à une archive sédimentaire du lac de Longemer (France). Nous proposons une méthode nouvelle se basant sur une mesure expérimentale ajustée numériquement afin de déterminer le coefficient d'atténuation massique des échantillons. Il est alors possible de remonter à une composition chimique fictive qui permettra d'utiliser la simulation Monte-Carlo pour réaliser l'étalonnage. Ainsi, à 59,54 keV la correction de l'auto-absorption peut atteindre 24 %. Les phénomènes de coïncidence peuvent également être corrigés par simulation. Le logiciel ETNA permet cette correction mais ne permet pas la modélisation d'un détecteur puits. Dans le but de corriger l'efficacité de notre détecteur puits, possédant une géométrie propice aux coïncidences, nous utilisons le transfert de rendement qui lui est adaptable pour n'importe quelle géométrie. Les résultats par cette méthode sont validés par MCNP6 et Génie 2000 sur les énergies principales du 214Bi. / In order to improve the determination of environmental samples activity, the detector efficiency calibration must be reliable. These studies deal with the main issues in gamma-ray spectrometry: the self-absorption and the true coincidence summing effects (TCS). These phenomena are studied by metrology and Monte-Carlo simulation (MCNP6) that imply the faithful of our detector models in relation to the experimental device. The self-absorption problem is the main one when the used standard for efficiency calibration has not the same physical and chemical characteristics than samples. A numerical calibration seems to be more suitable and we apply it for Longemer lake archives (France). A new method is proposed where an experimental measurement is processed through numerical simulations to determine the mass attenuation coefficient of the samples. It makes it possible to define a virtual chemical composition to use Monte-Carlo simulation. Then the numerical calibration at 59.54 keV gives a 24% self-absorption correction. The TCS problems can also be corrected by simulation. The ETNA software can determine this correction but it doesn’t make the well type detector model possible, with a geometry conducive to TCS effects. With the aim of correcting the efficiency of our well detector, the efficiency transfer, which can be adjusted to any device, is used. The results with this method are validated by MCNP6 and Genie 2000 software on the main lines of 214Bi.