Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of background components of an ultra-low background high purity germanium (HPGe) detector operating in a deep underground laboratory was carried out. The results show that ...the background of the HPGe detector is about two orders of magnitude higher than the MC prediction when accounting only for cosmic-ray induced background. The difference is due to natural radioactivity in the parts surrounding the Ge detector. To get reasonable agreement between MC simulations and the experiment, a contamination in the parts surrounding the Ge crystal from 40K, 208Tl and 214Bi of 0.1mBqkg−1 was required to include in the simulations.
•Monte Carlo simulations of muon-induced Ge detector background operating underground were carried out.•Experimental and Monte Carlo simulated background spectra of Ge detector were compared.•Experimental spectrum was by about two orders of magnitude higher than the simulated one.•Contamination levels of 40K, 214Bi and 208Tl surrounding the Ge detector were set at 0.1mBqkg−1.
Abstract The neural substrates regulating sensorimotor gating in rodents are studied in order to understand the basis for gating deficits in clinical disorders such as schizophrenia. N-methyl- d ...-aspartate (NMDA) infusion into the ventral temporal lobe, including caudal parts of the ventral hippocampal region and amygdala, has been shown to disrupt sensorimotor gating in rats, as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle. One working model is that reduced PPI after infusion of NMDA into this region is mediated via its efferents to ventral forebrain structures, i.e. medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens. Yet, PPI-disruptive effects persist after lesions of the precommissural fornix, the principal output pathway of the hippocampal formation. Here, we aimed to characterize non-fornical forebrain projections from this region that might mediate the PPI-disruptive effects of the ventral temporal lobe. Electrolytic lesions of the precommissural fornix in male Sprague–Dawley rats were followed by infusions of fluorogold into the mPFC or by infusions of biotinylated dextan amine into the ventral temporal lobe. Projections from the ventral subiculum and CA1 regions of the ventral hippocampus to the mPFC and accumbens core and shell were interrupted by fornix lesions. Projections to the mPFC and accumbens from other regions of the ventral temporal lobe, particularly the lateral entorhinal cortex and the embedded olfactory and vomeronasal parts of the caudal amygdala, survived fornix lesions. These additional projections coursed rostrally through the amygdala and emerged via the stria terminalis, interstitial nuclei of the posterior limb of the anterior commissure, and the ventral amygdalofugal pathway. PPI-regulatory portions of the ventral temporal lobe innervate the accumbens and mPFC via multiple routes. It remains to be determined which of these non-fornical projections may be responsible for the persistent regulation of PPI after fornix lesions.
The Modane underground laboratory (LSM) is the deepest operating underground laboratory in Europe. It is located under the Fréjus peak in Savoie Alps in France, with average overburden of 4800 m w. ...e. (water equivalent), providing low-background environment for experiments in nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics and environmental physics. It is crucial to understand individual sources of background such as residual cosmic-ray flux of high-energy muons, muon-induced neutrons and contributions from radionuclides present in the environment. The identified dominant sources of background are radioactive contamination of construction materials of detectors and laboratory walls, radon contamination of the laboratory air, and neutrons produced in the laboratory. The largest neutron contribution has been identified from (α, n) reactions in low Z materials (10−7-10−4 n s−1 Bq−1) and from spontaneous fission of 238U (1.1× 10−6 n s−1 Bq−1).
•Individual background contributions in the Modane underground laboratory are discussed.•Natural radioactive contamination in the detector construction and laboratory environment is the dominant background source.•Neutrons coming from the (α, n) reactions and spontaneous fission have been identified as the dominant neutron background sources.•Muon induced neutrons contribute less than 1% to neutron flux.
Diamond operated as a cryogenic calorimeter is an excellent target for direct detection of low-mass dark matter candidates. Following the realization of the first low-threshold cryogenic detector ...that uses diamond as absorber for astroparticle physics applications, we now present the resulting exclusion limits on the elastic spin-independent interaction cross-section of dark matter with diamond. We measured two 0.175 g CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond samples, each instrumented with a Transition Edge Sensor made of Tungsten (W-TES). Thanks to the energy threshold of just 16.8 eV of one of the two detectors, we set exclusion limits on the elastic spin-independent interaction of dark matter particles with carbon nuclei down to dark matter masses as low as 0.122 GeV/c
2
. This work shows the scientific potential of cryogenic detectors made from diamond and lays the foundation for the use of this material as target for direct detection dark matter experiments.
The CRESST (Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers) dark matter search experiment aims for the detection of dark matter particles via elastic scattering off nuclei in
CaWO
4
...crystals. To understand the CRESST electromagnetic background due to the bulk contamination in the employed materials, a model based on Monte Carlo simulations was developed using the Geant4 simulation toolkit. The results of the simulation are applied to the TUM40 detector module of CRESST-II phase 2. We are able to explain up to
(
68
±
16
)
%
of the electromagnetic background in the energy range between 1 and
40
keV
.
Abstract Sensorimotor gating, as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle, is deficient in human beings with schizophrenia and is greatly reduced in rats after bilateral infusion of ...N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) into the ventral hippocampus (VH). The disruption of PPI by bilateral VH NMDA infusion is blocked by bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) lesions, but not by bilateral lesions of the fornix, which is the principal output pathway of the hippocampal formation of the VH. Tract-tracing studies have shown the presence of additional nonfornical pathways by which the VH and neighboring structures of the amygdala may reach forebrain regions that regulate PPI, including the mPFC. To determine whether these nonfornical pathways might mediate forebrain activation after VH NMDA infusion, we examined the effects of bilateral VH NMDA infusion on c-Fos protein expression in the mPFC and nucleus accumbens (NAC) after sham vs. bilateral fornix lesions. Significant increases of c-Fos expression were observed in both the mPFC and NAC after bilateral VH NMDA infusions. Fornix lesions blocked enhanced c-Fos expression in the NAC but not the mPFC after VH NMDA infusion. The results suggest that an intact fornix may be necessary for VH activation of the NAC, but that the VH uses additional nonfornical projections to activate PPI-regulatory circuits within the mPFC.
After neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions (NVHLs), adult rats exhibit evidence of neural processing deficits relevant to schizophrenia, including reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic ...startle and impaired sensory processing. In intact rats, the regulation of PPI by the ventral hippocampus (VH) is mediated via interactions with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAC). We assessed PPI, auditory-evoked responses and expression of 7 schizophrenia-related genes in mPFC and NAC, in adult rats after sham- or real NVHLs.
Male inbred Buffalo (BUF) rat pups (d7; n = 36) received either vehicle or ibotenic acid infusion into the VH. PPI and auditory-evoked dentate gyrus local field potentials (LFPs) were measured on d56 and d66, respectively. Brains were processed for RT-PCR measures of mPFC and NAC Comt, Erbb4, Grid2, Ncam1, Slc1a2, Nrg1 and Reln.
NVHL rats exhibited significant deficits in PPI (p = 0.005) and LFPs (p < 0.015) proportional to lesion size. Sham vs. NVHL rats did not differ in gene expression levels in mPFC or NAC. As we previously reported, multiple gene expression levels were highly correlated within- (mean r's ≈ 0.5), but not across-brain regions (mean r's ≈ 0). However, for three genes – Comt, Slc1a2 and Ncam1 – after NVHLs, expression levels became significantly correlated, or “coupled,” across the mPFC and NAC (p's < 0.03, 0.002 and 0.05, respectively), and the degree of “coupling” increased with VH lesion size.
After NVHLs that disrupt PPI and auditory processing, specific gene expression levels suggest an abnormal functional coupling of the mPFC and NAC. This model of VH–mPFC–NAC network dysfunction after NVHLs may have implications for understanding the neural basis for PPI- and related sensory processing deficits in schizophrenia patients.
•Inbred BUF rats sustained sham or neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions (NVHLs).•As adults, NVHL rats exhibited profound deficits in prepulse inhibition of startle.•NVHL rats also exhibited deficits in auditory-evoked field potentials from dentate gyrus.•Expression levels of 7 PPI-related genes in mPFC and NAC were unchanged by NVHLs.•Levels of 3 genes correlated significantly in mPFC and NAC in NVHL but not sham rats.
CRESST is a leading direct detection sub-GeVc−2 dark matter experiment. During its second phase, cryogenic bolometers were used to detect nuclear recoils off the CaWO4 target crystal nuclei. The ...previously established electromagnetic background model relies on Secular Equilibrium (SE) assumptions. In this work, a validation of SE is attempted by comparing two likelihood-based normalisation results using a recently developed spectral template normalisation method based on Bayesian likelihood. Albeit we find deviations from SE in some cases we conclude that these deviations are artefacts of the fit and that the assumptions of SE is physically meaningful.
•Novel assessment of secular equilibrium assumptions in a CaWO4 cryogenic crystal.•Bayesian likelihood normalisation method of spectral templates.•Comparison between fits with and without secular equilibrium assumptions.•Deviations found -> effects of the fit; SE assumptions validated.
Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers (CRESST) is a long-standing direct dark matter detection experiment with cryogenic detectors located at the underground facility ...Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. CRESST-III, the third generation of CRESST, was specifically designed to have a world-leading sensitivity for low-mass dark matter (DM) (less than 2 GeV/
c
2
) to probe the spin-independent DM-nucleus cross section. At present, a large part of the parameter space for spin-independent scattering off nuclei remains untested for dark matter particles with masses below few GeV/
c
2
although many motivated theoretical models having been proposed. The CRESST-III experiment employs scintillating
CaWO
4
crystals of
∼
25 g as target material for dark matter interactions operated as cryogenic scintillating calorimeters at
∼
10 mK. CRESST-III first data taking was successfully completed in 2018, achieving an unprecedented energy threshold for nuclear recoils. This result extended the present sensitivity to DM particles as light as
∼
160 MeV/
c
2
. In this paper, an overview of the CRESST-III detectors and results will be presented.
A computing code based on the CERN's GEANT4 has been used to compute cosmic-ray background components of low-level Ge-spectrometers, optionally equipped with an anticosmic shield made of a plastic ...scintillation detector. The results show that the background of the Ge detector placed at 100
m w.e. (water equivalent) has decreased by a factor of 30 and 100 without and with anticosmic shielding, respectively, when compared with a surface laboratory without anticosmic shielding.
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