A beta-alpha coincidence counting system for measurement of trace quantities of 238U and 232Th in aqueous samples at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment was built to measure the total flux of 8B solar neutrinos via the neutral current disintegration deuterium nuclei. This process can be mimicked by daughter isotopes of 232Th and 238U which can photo-disintegrate the deuterium nucleus. Measurement of the concentration of such radioisotopes in the heavy water was critical to the success of the experiment. A radium assay technique using Hydrous Titanium Oxide coated filters was developed for this purpose and it was used in conjunction with a delayed beta-alpha coincidence counting system. The design, calibration and operation of this counting system are described in this paper. The counting efficiency for 232Th (224Ra) and 238U (226Ra) were measured to be 50 +/- 5% and 62 +/- 7

Determination of longitudinal bunch shape by means of coherent Smith-Purcell radiation

Coherent enhancement of the Smith-Purcell radiation produced from the interaction of a 1.8 MeV electron beam with a grating has been observed. The emitted radiation has been measured at angles in the 40° to 120° range, which correspond to wavelengths from 0.65 to 4 mm, approximately. The radiated power was 320 mW at 90°. Its angular distribution agrees well with the description of the process in terms of induced surface currents and has been used to infer the longitudinal profile of the electron bunch. It is concluded that the bunch has an approximately triangular profile, with 85% of the bunch particles contained within 14 ps. The possibilities of the technique as a bunch-shape diagnostic tool are also discussed

Determination of longitudinal bunch shape by means of coherent Smith-Purcell radiation

Coherent enhancement of the Smith-Purcell radiation produced from the interaction of a 1.8 MeV electron beam with a grating has been observed. The emitted radiation has been measured at angles in the 40° to 120° range, which correspond to wavelengths from 0.65 to 4 mm, approximately. The radiated power was 320 mW at 90°. Its angular distribution agrees well with the description of the process in terms of induced surface currents and has been used to infer the longitudinal profile of the electron bunch. It is concluded that the bunch has an approximately triangular profile, with 85% of the bunch particles contained within 14 ps. The possibilities of the technique as a bunch-shape diagnostic tool are also discussed. © 2002 The American Physical Society

High sensitivity measurement of 224Ra and 226Ra in water with an improved hydrous titanium oxide technique at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The existing hydrous titanium oxide (HTiO) technique for the measurement of 224Ra and 226Ra in the water at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) has been changed to make it faster and less sensitive to trace impurities in the HTiO eluate. Using HTiO-loaded filters followed by cation exchange adsorption and HTiO co-precipitation, Ra isotopes from 200-450 tonnes of heavy water can be extracted and concentrated into a single sample of a few millilitres with a total chemical efficiency of 50%. Combined with beta-alpha coincidence counting, this method is capable of measuring 2.0x10^3 uBq/kg of 224Ra and 3.7x10^3 uBq/kg of 226Ra from the 232Th and 238U decay chains, respectively, for a 275 tonne D2O assay, which are equivalent to 5x10^16 g Th/g and 3x10^16 g U/g in heavy water.Comment: 8 Pages, 2 figures and 2 table

Measurement of 222Rn dissolved in water at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The technique used at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) to measure the concentration of 222Rn in water is described. Water from the SNO detector is passed through a vacuum degasser (in the light water system) or a membrane contact degasser (in the heavy water system) where dissolved gases, including radon, are liberated. The degasser is connected to a vacuum system which collects the radon on a cold trap and removes most other gases, such as water vapor and nitrogen. After roughly 0.5 tonnes of H2O or 6 tonnes of D2O have been sampled, the accumulated radon is transferred to a Lucas cell. The cell is mounted on a photomultiplier tube which detects the alpha particles from the decay of 222Rn and its daughters. The overall degassing and concentration efficiency is about 38% and the single-alpha counting efficiency is approximately 75%. The sensitivity of the radon assay system for D2O is equivalent to ~3 E(-15) g U/g water. The radon concentration in both the H2O and D2O is sufficiently low that the rate of background events from U-chain elements is a small fraction of the interaction rate of solar neutrinos by the neutral current reaction.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; v2 has very minor change

A radium assay technique using hydrous titanium oxide adsorbent for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

As photodisintegration of deuterons mimics the disintegration of deuterons by neutrinos, the accurate measurement of the radioactivity from thorium and uranium decay chains in the heavy water in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is essential for the determination of the total solar neutrino flux. A radium assay technique of the required sensitivity is described that uses hydrous titanium oxide adsorbent on a filtration membrane together with a beta-alpha delayed coincidence counting system. For a 200 tonne assay the detection limit for 232Th is a concentration of 3 x 10^(-16) g Th/g water and for 238U of 3 x 10^(-16) g U/g water. Results of assays of both the heavy and light water carried out during the first two years of data collection of SNO are presented.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Low-Multiplicity Burst Search At The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Results are reported from a search for low-multiplicity neutrino bursts in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. Such bursts could indicate the detection of a nearby core-collapse supernova explosion. The data were taken from Phase I (1999 November-2001 May), when the detector was filled with heavy water, and Phase II (2001 July-2003 August), when NaCl was added to the target. The search was a blind analysis in which the potential backgrounds were estimated and analysis cuts were developed to eliminate such backgrounds with 90% confidence before the data were examined. The search maintained a greater than 50% detection probability for standard supernovae occurring at a distance of up to 60 kpc for Phase I and up to 70 kpc for Phase II. No low-multiplicity bursts were observed during the data-taking period.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, CanadaIndustry Canada, CanadaNational Research Council, CanadaNorthern Ontario Heritage Fund, CanadaAtomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., CanadaOntario Power Generation, CanadaHigh Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory, CanadaCanada Foundation for Innovation, CanadaCanada Research Chairs, CanadaDepartment of Energy, USNational Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, USAlfred P. Sloan Foundation, USScience and Technology Facilities Council, UKFundacao para a Ciencia e a Technologia, PortugalAstronom

Searches For High-Frequency Variations In The B-8 Solar Neutrino Flux At The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

We have performed three searches for high-frequency signals in the solar neutrino flux measured by the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, motivated by the possibility that solar g-mode oscillations could affect the production or propagation of solar B-8 neutrinos. The first search looked for any significant peak in the frequency range 1-144 day(-1), with a sensitivity to sinusoidal signals with amplitudes of 12% or greater. The second search focused on regions in which g-mode signals have been claimed by experiments aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite, and was sensitive to signals with amplitudes of 10% or greater. The third search looked for extra power across the entire frequency band. No statistically significant signal was detected in any of the three searches.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, CanadaIndustry Canada, CanadaNational Research Council, CanadaNorthern Ontario Heritage Fund, CanadaAtomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., CanadaOntario Power Generation, CanadaHigh Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory, CanadaCanada Foundation for InnovationDept. of Energy, USNational Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, USScience and Technologies Facilities Council, UKAstronom

Low Multiplicity Burst Search at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Results are reported from a search for low-multiplicity neutrino bursts in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). Such bursts could indicate detection of a nearby core-collapse supernova explosion. The data were taken from Phase I (November 1999 - May 2001), when the detector was filled with heavy water, and Phase II (July 2001 - August 2003), when NaCl was added to the target. The search was a blind analysis in which the potential backgrounds were estimated and analysis cuts were developed to eliminate such backgrounds with 90% confidence before the data were examined. The search maintained a greater than 50% detection probability for standard supernovae occurring at a distance of up to 60 kpc for Phase I and up to 70 kpc for Phase II. No low-multiplicity bursts were observed during the data-taking period.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Ap

A Search for Neutrinos from the Solar hep Reaction and the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

A search has been made for neutrinos from the hep reaction in the Sun and from the diffus