• Open Access

Cosmogenic neutron production at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

B. Aharmim et al. (SNO Collaboration)
Phys. Rev. D 100, 112005 – Published 12 December 2019

Abstract

Neutrons produced in nuclear interactions initiated by cosmic-ray muons present an irreducible background to many rare-event searches, even in detectors located deep underground. Models for the production of these neutrons have been tested against previous experimental data, but the extrapolation to deeper sites is not well understood. Here we report results from an analysis of cosmogenically produced neutrons at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. A specific set of observables are presented, which can be used to benchmark the validity of geant4 physics models. In addition, the cosmogenic neutron yield, in units of 104cm2/(g·μ), is measured to be 7.28±0.09(stat)1.12+1.59(syst) in pure heavy water and 7.30±0.07(stat)1.02+1.40(syst) in NaCl-loaded heavy water. These results provide unique insights into this potential background source for experiments at SNOLAB.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
7 More
  • Received 25 September 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.112005

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & Fields

Authors & Affiliations

Click to Expand

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 100, Iss. 11 — 1 December 2019

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×