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“Elastic and inelastic neutron scattering as backgrounds for dark matter and neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments”

January 10, 2013 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Sean MacMullin

Neutron backgrounds are a significant concern to experiments that attempt to directly detect Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter. Recoil nuclei produced by neutron elastic scattering can mimic WIMP signatures. Cosmic-ray-induced neutrons are also a source of potentially irreducible backgrounds in neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. There is insufficient experimental data available for the scattering cross sections of neutrons with noble gases (Ne, Ar, Xe), which are candidate construction materials for such experiments. Neutron elastic scattering from argon and neon of natural abundance was investigated at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory at neutron energies relevant to (alpha,n) and low-energy spallation neutron backgrounds in these experiments. Partial gamma-ray production cross sections for (n,xng) reactions from 1-30 MeV were also measured at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Details of the experimental techniques, results and implications of these measurements will be presented.

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Date:
January 10, 2013
Time:
10:00 am - 12:00 pm

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