Investigation of radioactivity-induced backgrounds in EXO-200

Abstract

The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) requires extremely low background and a good understanding of their sources and their influence on the rate in the region of parameter space relevant to the 0νββ signal. We report on studies of various β- and γ-backgrounds in the liquid- xenon-based EXO-200 0νββ experiment. With this work we try to better understand the location and strength of specific background sources and compare the conclusions to radioassay results taken before and during detector construction. Finally, we discuss the implications of these studies for EXO-200 as well as for the next-generation, tonne-scale nEXO detector.

9 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables

References in corpus (3)

• Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay in ${}^{136}$Xe with EXO-200
• Limit on Neutrinoless ββ Decay of Xe-136 from the First Phase of KamLAND-Zen and Comparison with the Positive Claim in Ge-76
• Systematic study of trace radioactive impurities in candidate construction materials for EXO-200

Cited by in corpus (30)

• DarkSide-20k: A 20 Tonne Two-Phase LAr TPC for Direct Dark Matter Detection at LNGS
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• Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay with the Complete EXO-200 Dataset
• Sensitivity and discovery potential of the proposed nEXO experiment to neutrinoless double beta decay
• NEXO: Neutrinoless double beta decay search beyond $10^{28}$ year half-life sensitivity
• The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) radioactivity and cleanliness control programs
• PandaX-xT: a Multi-ten-tonne Liquid Xenon Observatory at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory
• Radiogenic Neutron Yield Calculations for Low-Background Experiments
• Analysis of backgrounds for the ANAIS-112 dark matter experiment
• Site-selection criteria for the Einstein Telescope
• Measurements of the ion fraction and mobility of alpha and beta decay products in liquid xenon using EXO-200
• A Review of Basic Energy Reconstruction Techniques in Liquid Xenon and Argon Detectors for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics Using NEST
• Enriched TeO${}_2$ bolometers with active particle discrimination: towards the CUPID experiment
• Online ${}^{222}$Rn removal by cryogenic distillation in the XENON100 experiment
• Assessment of backgrounds of the ANAIS experiment for dark matter direct detection
• Trace radioactive impurities in final construction materials for EXO-200
• Background assessment for the TREX Dark Matter experiment
• Kiloton-scale xenon detectors for neutrinoless double beta decay and other new physics searches
• Search for neutrinoless double beta decay
• Ultra-low radioactivity Kapton and copper-Kapton laminates
• Search for MeV Electron Recoils from Dark Matter in EXO-200
• The EXO-200 detector, part II: Auxiliary Systems
• Constraining Radon Backgrounds in LZ
• Measurement of radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment
• Event Reconstruction in a Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chamber with an Optically-Open Field Cage
• Cryogenic bath-type heat exchangers for ultra-pure noble gas applications
• Radon background in liquid xenon detectors
• Ultra-sensitive radon assay using an electrostatic chamber in a recirculating system
• Ultra-clean radon-free four cylinder magnetically-coupled piston pump
• Canadian Contributions to the Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay