The n^th-Order Comprehensive Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Response-Coupled Forward/Adjoint Linear Systems (n^th-CASAM-L): II. Illustrative Application

Abstract

This work illustrates the application of the nth-order comprehensive adjoint sensitivity analysis methodology for response-coupled forward/adjoint linear systems (abbreviated as “nth-CASAM-L”) to a paradigm model that describes the transmission of particles (neutrons and/or photons) through homogenized materials, as encountered in radiation protection and shielding. The first-, second-, and third-order sensitivities of responses that depend on both the forward and adjoint particle fluxes are obtained exactly, in closed-form, underscoring the principles and methodology underlying the nth-CASAM-L. The results presented in this work underscore the fundamentally important role of the nth-CASAM-L in the quest to overcome the “curse of dimensionality” in sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification and predictive modeling.

Keywords

• high-order adjoint sensitivity systems
• high-order sensitivities
• monoenergetic neutron/photon transport
• particle detector response
• particle leakage response
• reaction rate response