Akerib, D.S., Akerlof, C.W., Alsum, S.K. et al. (164 more authors) (2020) Measurement of the gamma ray background in the Davis Cavern at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. Astroparticle Physics, 116. 102391. ISSN 0927-6505
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 4,850-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 in the cavern of 1.9±0.4~γ cm−2s−1. The resulting activity in the walls of the cavern can be characterised as 220±60~Bq/kg of 40K, 29±15~Bq/kg of 238U, and 13±3~Bq/kg of 232Th.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Elsevier B.V. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Astroparticle Physics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Dark matter; Low background; Radiation; Underground; Gamma rays; Gamma spectroscopy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL ST/M003469/1 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL ST/N001141/1 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL ST/N000277/1 Science and Technology Facilities Council ST/N000277/1 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL ST/P00573X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Apr 2019 13:28 |
Last Modified: | 24 Nov 2020 15:56 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2019.102391 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:145148 |