Akerib, DS;
Akerlof, CW;
Alsum, SK;
Angelides, N;
Araújo, HM;
Armstrong, JE;
Arthurs, M;
... Miller, EH; + view all
(2020)
Measurement of the gamma ray background in the Davis cavern at the Sanford Underground Research Facility.
Astroparticle Physics
, 116
, Article 102391. 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2019.102391.
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Abstract
Deep underground environments are ideal for low background searches due to the attenuation of cosmic rays by passage through the earth. However, they are affected by backgrounds from γ-rays emitted by ⁴⁰K and the ²³⁸U and ²³²Th decay chains in the surrounding rock. The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions with a liquid xenon TPC located within the Davis campus at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, South Dakota, at the 4850-foot level. In order to characterise the cavern background, in-situ γ-ray measurements were taken with a sodium iodide detector in various locations and with lead shielding. The integral count rates (0–3300 keV) varied from 596 Hz to 1355 Hz for unshielded measurements, corresponding to a total flux from the cavern walls of 1.9 ± 0.4 γ cm⁻² s⁻¹. The resulting activity in the walls of the cavern can be characterised as 220 ± 60 Bq/kg of ⁴⁰K, 9 ± 15 Bq/kg of ²³⁸U, and 13 ± 3 Bq/kg of ²³²Th.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Measurement of the gamma ray background in the Davis cavern at the Sanford Underground Research Facility |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2019.102391 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2019.10239... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Dark matter, Low background, Radiation, Underground, Gamma rays, Gamma spectroscopy |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10087387 |
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