A new tool for (α\alpha,n) yield calculations and its implications for DEAP-3600

Collaboration
for the collaboration.
Jan 3, 2018
Published in:
  • AIP Conf.Proc. 1921 (2018) 1, 060002
Contribution to:
  • Published: Jan 3, 2018
Experiments:

Citations per year

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Abstract: (AIP)
Neutron-induced nuclear recoils present one of the dominant backgrounds in many low-background experiments. These neutrons are largely radiogenic in origin, coming from fission and (α, n) reactions in detector components. The (α, n) neutron production rate in a material depends on its composition and the energies of the α decays inside of it. We present NeuCBOT, the Neutron Calculator Based on TALYS, a new tool for calculating the (α, n) yields and neutron energy spectra for materials exposed to a given set of α energies or α-emitting isotopes. We benchmark these calculations against measured yields and SOURCES-4C calculations. We discuss these yield calculations in the context of DEAP-3600, a Weakly Interactive Massive Particle dark matter detector at SNOLAB. Using NeuCBOT and Geant4 simulations, we predict the neutron-induced nuclear recoil background in DEAP-3600. We then present in-situ constraints on the neutron background rate in DEAP-3600, consistent with our prediction.
  • nucleus: recoil
  • n: background
  • n: energy spectrum
  • n: production
  • yield: measured
  • dark matter: detector
  • particle: massive
  • DEAP-3600
  • benchmark
  • fission