643 research outputs found
The MAJORANA 76Ge neutrino less double-beta decay project: A brief update
At present, MAJORANA is a research and development (R&D) project to
investigate the feasibility and cost of constructing and operating a one ton
decay experiment with ~1000 kg of Ge detectors fabricated from germanium
enriched to 86% in . The study will include three separate cryostats with
various types of detectors: un-segmented, un-segmented point-contact, minimally
segmented, and highly segmented. One cryostat will contain at least 30 kg of
enriched (preferably point-contact) detectors. The performance of the cryostats
and detectors as well as background levels will be investigated. The goal of
the demonstrator project is to reach a discovery sensitivity of ~ 1026 y.Comment: 3 pages, no figure
Coherent Neutral Current Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering at a Spallation Source; a Valuable Experimental Probe
The coherent contribution of all neutrons in neutrino nucleus scattering due
to the neutral current is examined considering the Spallation Neutron Source
(SNS) as a source of neutrinos. SNS is a prolific pulsed source of electron and
muon neutrinos as well as muon antineutrinos.Comment: 15 LaTex pages, 14 figures, 3 Table
Energy resolution of alpha particles in a microbulk Micromegas detector at high pressure Argon and Xenon mixtures
The latest Micromesh Gas Amplification Structures (Micromegas) are achieving
outstanding energy resolution for low energy photons, with values as low as 11%
FWHM for the 5.9 keV line of Fe in argon/isobutane mixtures at
atmospheric pressure. At higher energies (MeV scale), these measurements are
more complicated due to the difficulty in confining the events in the chamber,
although there is no fundamental reason why resolutions of 1% FWHM or below
could not be reached. There is much motivation to demonstrate experimentally
this fact in Xe mixtures due to the possible application of Micromegas readouts
to the Double Beta Decay search of Xe, or in other experiments needing
calorimetry and topology in the same detector. In this paper, we report on
systematic measurements of energy resolution with state-of-the-art Micromegas
using a 5.5 MeV alpha source in high pressure Ar/isobutane mixtures. Values as
low as 1.8% FWHM have been obtained, with possible evidence that better
resolutions are achievable. Similar measurements in Xe, of which a preliminary
result is also shown here, are under progress.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figures, version after referees comments. Accepted for
publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods
Cosmogenic activation of Germanium and its reduction for low background experiments
Production of Co and Ge from stable isotopes of Germanium by
nuclear active component of cosmic rays is a principal background source for a
new generation of Ge double beta decay experiments like GERDA and
Majorana. The biggest amount of cosmogenic activity is expected to be produced
during transportation of either enriched material or already grown crystal.
In this letter properties and feasibility of a movable iron shield are
discussed. Activation reduction factor of about 10 is predicted by simulations
with SHIELD code for a simple cylindrical configuration. It is sufficient for
GERDA Phase II background requirements. Possibility of further increase of
reduction factor and physical limitations are considered. Importance of
activation reduction during Germanium purification and detector manufacturing
is emphasized.Comment: 10 pages, 3 tables, 6 figure
Components of Antineutrino Emission in Nuclear Reactor
New scattering experiments aimed for sensitive searches of
the magnetic moment and projects to explore small mixing angle
oscillations at reactors call for a better understanding of the reactor
antineutrino spectrum. Here we consider six components, which contribute to the
total spectrum generated in nuclear reactor. They are: beta
decay of the fission fragments of U, Pu, U and
Pu, decay of beta-emitters produced as a result of neutron capture in
U and also due to neutron capture in accumulated fission fragments
which perturbs the spectrum. For antineutrino energies less than 3.5 MeV we
tabulate evolution of spectra corresponding to each of the four
fissile isotopes vs fuel irradiation time and their decay after the irradiation
is stopped and also estimate relevant uncertainties. Small corrections to the
ILL spectra are considered.Comment: LaTex 8 pages, 2 ps figure
Recent results from the canfranc dark matter search with germanium detectors
Two germanium detectors are currently operating in the Canfranc Underground
Laboratory at 2450 m.w.e looking for WIMP dark matter. One is a 2 kg 76Ge IGEX
detector (RG-2) which has an energy threshold of 4 keV and a low-energy
background rate of about 0.3 c/keV/kg/day. The other is a small (234 g) natural
abundance Ge detector (COSME), of low energy threshold (2.5 keV) and an energy
resolution of 0.4 keV at 10 keV which is looking for WIMPs and for solar
axions. The analysis of 73 kg-days of data taken by COSME in a search for solar
axions via their photon Primakoff conversion and Bragg scattering in the Ge
crystal yields a 95% C.L. limit for the axion-photon coupling g < 2.8 10^-9
GeV^-1. These data, analyzed for WIMP searches provide an exclusion plot for
WIMP-nucleon spin-independent interaction which improves previous plots in the
low mass region. On the other hand, the exclusion plot derived from the 60
kg-days of data from the RG-2 IGEX detector improves the exclusion limits
derived from other ionization (non thermal) germanium detector experiments in
the region of WIMP masses from 30 to 100 GeV recently singled out by the
reported DAMA annual modulation effect.Comment: 6 pages, talk given at IDM2000, York, September 200
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