Cosmogenic-neutron activation of ${\mathrm{TeO}}_{2}$ and implications for neutrinoless double-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay experiments

Cosmogenic-neutron activation of ${TeO}_{2}$ and implications for neutrinoless double- $β$ decay experiments

B. S. Wang, E. B. Norman, N. D. Scielzo, A. R. Smith, K. J. Thomas, and S. A. Wender

Phys. Rev. C 92, 024620 – Published 27 August 2015

Abstract

Flux-averaged cross sections for cosmogenic-neutron activation of natural tellurium were measured using a neutron beam containing neutrons of kinetic energies up to $\sim 800$ MeV and having an energy spectrum similar to that of cosmic-ray neutrons at sea level. Analysis of the radioisotopes produced reveals that ${}^{110 m}{Ag}$ will be a dominant contributor to the cosmogenic-activation background in experiments searching for neutrinoless double- $β$ decay of ${}^{130}{Te}$ , such as the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Plus $(SNO +)$ . An estimate of the cosmogenic-activation background in the CUORE experiment has been obtained using the results of this measurement and cross-section measurements of proton activation of tellurium. Additionally, the measured cross sections in this work are also compared with results from semiempirical cross-section calculations.

Received 27 February 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.92.024620

Authors & Affiliations

B. S. Wang¹, E. B. Norman^1,2, N. D. Scielzo², A. R. Smith³, K. J. Thomas^1,3, and S. A. Wender⁴

¹Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
²Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA
³Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
⁴Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Issue

Vol. 92, Iss. 2 — August 2015

Reuse & Permissions

Access Options

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript

Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Physical Review C

covering nuclear physics

Cosmogenic-neutron activation of ${TeO}_{2}$ and implications for neutrinoless double- $β$ decay experiments

B. S. Wang, E. B. Norman, N. D. Scielzo, A. R. Smith, K. J. Thomas, and S. A. Wender

Phys. Rev. C 92, 024620 – Published 27 August 2015

Abstract

Authors & Affiliations

Article Text (Subscription Required)

References (Subscription Required)

Issue

Access Options

Physical Review C

covering nuclear physics

Cosmogenic-neutron activation of TeO2 and implications for neutrinoless double-β decay experiments

B. S. Wang, E. B. Norman, N. D. Scielzo, A. R. Smith, K. J. Thomas, and S. A. Wender

Phys. Rev. C 92, 024620 – Published 27 August 2015

Abstract

Authors & Affiliations

Article Text (Subscription Required)

References (Subscription Required)

Issue

Access Options

Authorization Required

Other Options

Download & Share

Images

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Log In

Search

Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation

Cosmogenic-neutron activation of ${TeO}_{2}$ and implications for neutrinoless double- $β$ decay experiments