A Study of Physicists' Role in Recent Nuclear Weapons Policy Debates

Resumed industrial-scale production of nuclear weapons components, including new plutonium pits, is a major development in U.S. nuclear weapons policy. Historically, independent scientific scrutiny of such policies has been influential on the public and policymakers. We study the recent history of independent scientific analysis and assessment of nuclear weapons modernization plans, especially the role of physicists and physical scientists. We present a few examples of physicists' contributions to significant published literature relevant to recent developments in nuclear weapons policy.