Multiple detectors “Influence Method”

•“Multiple Detector Influence Method” developed for uncertainty reduction.•Absolute particle counting in absence of known detector efficiency.•Detector set efficiency determination.

The “Influence Method” is conceived for the absolute determination of a nuclear particle flux in the absence of known detector efficiency and without the need to register coincidences of any kind.This method exploits the influence of the presence of one detector in the count rate of another detector, when they are placed one behind the other and define statistical estimators for the absolute number of incident particles and for the efficiency (Rios and Mayer, 2015a). Its detailed mathematical description was recently published (Rios and Mayer, 2015b) and its practical implementation in the measurement of a moderated neutron flux arising from an isotopic neutron source was exemplified in (Rios and Mayer, 2016).With the objective of further reducing the measurement uncertainties, in this article we extend the method for the case of multiple detectors placed one behind the other. The new estimators for the number of particles and the detection efficiency are herein derived.