Using the methods of cold neutron capture and photon scattering the electric dipole strength function and the level density of the nuclei 78Se and 196Pt are investigated. Considering that the ...deexcitation process could be described by the same strength functions one could describe both experiments in a statistical model code. The report shows the data analysis as well as a new very fast statistical code, which was used to get the complete strength information up to the neutron separation energy.
Information on the photon strength in heavy nuclei with mass A > 150 will be given and compared to respective data. The photon strength function is a very important ingredient for statistical model ...calculations – especially when these are used to describe neutron capture. Several schemes for a transmutation of radioactive waste favor nuclear reactions with fast neutrons and these also influence the performance of various reactor types proposed to deliver nuclear energy together with only small quantities of such waste. Reactions with fast neutrons are less well studied as compared to those induced by thermal neutrons. As they are not easily accessible experimentally, reference is often made to calculations using the statistical model. Photon emission probabilities are needed as input to such calculations aiming for predictions on fission to capture ratios. Results of approximate calculations for radiative neutron capture will be presented.
The Majorana Demonstrator is an array of point-contact Ge detectors fabricated from Ge isotopically enriched to 88% in 76Ge to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. The processing of Ge for ...germanium detectors is a well-known technology. However, because of the high cost of Ge enriched in 76Ge special procedures were required to maximize the yield of detector mass and to minimize exposure to cosmic rays. These procedures include careful accounting for the material; shielding it to reduce cosmogenic generation of radioactive isotopes; and development of special reprocessing techniques for contaminated solid germanium, shavings, grindings, acid etchant and cutting fluids from detector fabrication. Processing procedures were developed that resulted in a total yield in detector mass of 70%. However, none of the acid-etch solution and only 50% of the cutting fluids from detector fabrication were reprocessed. Had they been processed, the projections for the recovery yield would be between 80% and 85%. Maximizing yield is critical to justify a possible future ton-scale experiment. A process for recovery of germanium from the acid-etch solution was developed with yield of about 90%. All material was shielded or stored underground whenever possible to minimize the formation of 68Ge by cosmic rays, which contributes background in the double-beta decay region of interest and cannot be removed by zone refinement and crystal growth. Formation of 68Ge was reduced by a significant factor over that in natural abundance detectors not protected from cosmic rays.
Imperfections in analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) cannot be ignored when signal digitization requirements demand both wide dynamic range and high resolution, as is the case for the Majorana ...Demonstrator 76 Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay search. Enabling the experiment's high-resolution spectral analysis and efficient pulse shape discrimination required careful measurement and correction of ADC nonlinearities. A simple measurement protocol was developed that did not require sophisticated equipment or lengthy data-taking campaigns. A slope-dependent hysteresis was observed and characterized. A correction applied to digitized waveforms prior to signal processing reduced the differential and integral nonlinearities by an order of magnitude, eliminating these as dominant contributions to the systematic energy uncertainty at the double-beta decay <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">Q </tex-math></inline-formula> value.
The Majorana Demonstrator calibration system Abgrall, N.; Arnquist, I.J.; Avignone III, F.T. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
11/2017, Letnik:
872, Številka:
C
Journal Article
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The Majorana Collaboration is searching for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of the nucleus 76Ge. The Majorana Demonstrator is an array of germanium detectors deployed with the aim of implementing ...background reduction techniques suitable for a 1-ton 76Ge-based search. The ultra low-background conditions require regular calibrations to verify proper function of the detectors. Radioactive line sources can be deployed around the cryostats containing the detectors for regular energy calibrations. When measuring in low-background mode, these line sources have to be stored outside the shielding so they do not contribute to the background. The deployment and the retraction of the source are designed to be controlled by the data acquisition system and do not require any direct human interaction. In this paper, we detail the design requirements and implementation of the calibration apparatus, which provides the event rates needed to define the pulse-shape cuts and energy calibration used in the final analysis as well as data that can be compared to simulations.
We report the first measurement of the total muon flux underground at the Davis Campus of the Sanford Underground Research Facility at the 4850 ft level. Measurements were performed using the ...MajoranaDemonstrator muon veto system arranged in two different configurations. The measured total flux is (5.31±0.17)×10−9μ/s/cm2.
Abstract P-type point contact (PPC) HPGe detectors are a leading technology for rare event searches due to their excellent energy resolution, low thresholds, and multi-site event rejection ...capabilities. We have characterized a PPC detector’s response to $$\alpha $$ α particles incident on the sensitive passivated and p $$^+$$ + surfaces, a previously poorly-understood source of background. The detector studied is identical to those in the Majorana Demonstrator experiment, a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay ( $$0\nu \beta \beta $$ 0 ν β β ) in $$^{76}$$ 76 Ge. $$\alpha $$ α decays on most of the passivated surface exhibit significant energy loss due to charge trapping, with waveforms exhibiting a delayed charge recovery (DCR) signature caused by the slow collection of a fraction of the trapped charge. The DCR is found to be complementary to existing methods of $$\alpha $$ α identification, reliably identifying $$\alpha $$ α background events on the passivated surface of the detector. We demonstrate effective rejection of all surface $$\alpha $$ α events (to within statistical uncertainty) with a loss of only 0.2% of bulk events by combining the DCR discriminator with previously-used methods. The DCR discriminator has been used to reduce the background rate in the $$0\nu \beta \beta $$ 0 ν β β region of interest window by an order of magnitude in the Majorana Demonstrator and will be used in the upcoming LEGEND-200 experiment.
P-type point contact (PPC) HPGe detectors are a leading technology for rare event searches due to their excellent energy resolution, low thresholds, and multi-site event rejection capabilities. We ...have characterized a PPC detector’s response to
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particles incident on the sensitive passivated and p
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surfaces, a previously poorly-understood source of background. The detector studied is identical to those in the
Majorana
Demonstrator
experiment, a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (
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) in
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76
Ge.
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decays on most of the passivated surface exhibit significant energy loss due to charge trapping, with waveforms exhibiting a delayed charge recovery (DCR) signature caused by the slow collection of a fraction of the trapped charge. The DCR is found to be complementary to existing methods of
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identification, reliably identifying
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background events on the passivated surface of the detector. We demonstrate effective rejection of all surface
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events (to within statistical uncertainty) with a loss of only 0.2% of bulk events by combining the DCR discriminator with previously-used methods. The DCR discriminator has been used to reduce the background rate in the
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region of interest window by an order of magnitude in the
Majorana
Demonstrator
and will be used in the upcoming LEGEND-200 experiment.