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Register a new userBarometric pumping effect for radon-due neutron flux in underground laboratories
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It is known that neutron background is a big problem for low-background experiments in underground Laboratories. Our global net of en-detectors sensitive to thermal neutrons includes the detectors running both on the surface and at different depths underground. We present here results obtained with the en-detector of 0.75 m^2 which is running more than 3 years in underground room at a depth of 25 m of water equivalent in Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow. Spontaneous increases in thermal neutron flux up to a factor of 3 were observed in delayed anti-correlation with barometric pressure. The phenomenon can be explained by a radon barometric pumping effect resulting in similar effect in neutron flux produced in (alpha,n)-reactions by alpha-decays of radon and its daughters in surrounding rock
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The field of nuclear astrophysics is devoted to the study of the creation of the chemical elements. By nature, it is deeply intertwined with the physics of the Sun. The nuclear reactions of the proton-proton cycle of hydrogen burning, including the 3He({alpha},{gamma})7Be reaction, provide the necessary nuclear energy to prevent the gravitational collapse of the Sun and give rise to the by now well-studied pp, 7Be, and 8B solar neutrinos. The not yet measured flux of 13N, 15O, and 17F neutrinos from the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle is affected in rate by the 14N(p,{gamma})15O reaction and in emission profile by the 12C(p,{gamma})13N reaction. The nucleosynthetic output of the subsequent phase in stellar evolution, helium burning, is controlled by the 12C({alpha},{gamma})16O reaction. In order to properly interpret the existing and upcoming solar neutrino data, precise nuclear physics information is needed. For nuclear reactions between light, stable nuclei, the best available technique are experiments with small ion accelerators in underground, low-background settings. The pioneering work in this regard has been done by the LUNA collaboration at Gran Sasso/Italy, using a 0.4 MV accelerator. The present contribution reports on a higher-energy, 5.0 MV, underground accelerator in the Felsenkeller underground site in Dresden/Germany. Results from {gamma}-ray, neutron, and muon background measurements in the Felsenkeller underground site in Dresden, Germany, show that the background conditions are satisfactory for nuclear astrophysics purposes. The accelerator is in the commissioning phase and will provide intense, up to 50{mu}A, beams of 1H+, 4He+ , and 12C+ ions, enabling research on astrophysically relevant nuclear reactions with unprecedented sensitivity.
The DEAP-1 SI{7}{kg} single phase liquid argon scintillation detector was operated underground at SNOLAB in order to test the techniques and measure the backgrounds inherent to single phase detection, in support of the mbox{DEAP-3600} Dark Matter detector. Backgrounds in DEAP are controlled through material selection, construction techniques, pulse shape discrimination and event reconstruction. This report details the analysis of background events observed in three iterations of the DEAP-1 detector, and the measures taken to reduce them. The $^{222}$Rn decay rate in the liquid argon was measured to be between 16 and SI{26}{microbecquerelperkilogram}. We found that the background spectrum near the region of interest for Dark Matter detection in the DEAP-1 detector can be described considering events from three sources: radon daughters decaying on the surface of the active volume, the expected rate of electromagnetic events misidentified as nuclear recoils due to inefficiencies in the pulse shape discrimination, and leakage of events from outside the fiducial volume due to imperfect position reconstruction. These backgrounds statistically account for all observed events, and they will be strongly reduced in the DEAP-3600 detector due to its higher light yield and simpler geometry.
The MIMAC experiment is a $mu$-TPC matrix project for directional dark matter search. Directional detection is a strategy based on the measurement of the WIMP flux anisotropy due to the solar system motion with respect to the dark matter halo. The main purpose of MIMAC project is the measurement of the energy and the direction of nuclear recoils in 3D produced by elastic scattering of WIMPs. Since June 2012 a bi-chamber prototype is operating at the Modane underground laboratory. In this paper, we report the first ionization energy and 3D track observations of nuclear recoils produced by the radon progeny. This measurement shows the capability of the MIMAC detector and opens the possibility to explore the low energy recoil directionality signature.
Underground laboratories are complementary to those where the research in fundamental physics is made using accelerators. This report focus on the logistic and on the background features of the most relevant laboratories in Europe, stressing also on the low background facilities available. In particular the report is focus on the laboratories involved in the new Europeean project ILIAS with the aim to support the European large infrastructures operating in the astroparticle physics area.
We present the design of an instrument capable of measuring the high energy ($>$60 MeV) muon-induced neutron flux deep underground. The instrument is based on applying the Gd-loaded liquid-scintillator technique to measure the rate of high-energy neutrons underground based on the neutron multiplicity induced in a Pb target. We present design studies based on Monte Carlo simulations that show that an apparatus consisting of a Pb target of 200 cm by 200 cm area by 60 cm thickness covered by a 60 cm thick Gd-loaded liquid scintillator (0.5% Gd content) detector could measure, at a depth of 2000 meters of water equivalent, a rate of $70pm8$ (stat) events/year. Based on these studies, we also discuss the benefits of using a neutron multiplicity meter as a component of active shielding in such experiments.
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