Cosmogenic activation of sodium iodide

R. Saldanha; W. G. Thompson; Y. Y. Zhong; L. J. Bignell; R. H.M. Tsang; S. J. Hollick; S. R. Elliott; G. J. Lane; R. H. Maruyama; L. Yang

doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.107.022006

Cosmogenic activation of sodium iodide

R. Saldanha^*, W. G. Thompson, Y. Y. Zhong, L. J. Bignell, R. H.M. Tsang, S. J. Hollick, S. R. Elliott, G. J. Lane, R. H. Maruyama, L. Yang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The production of radioactive isotopes by interactions of cosmic-ray particles with sodium iodide (NaI) crystals can produce radioactive backgrounds in detectors used to search for rare events. Through controlled irradiation of NaI crystals with a neutron beam that matches the cosmic-ray neutron spectrum, followed by direct counting and fitting the resulting spectrum across a broad range of energies, we determined the integrated production rate of several long-lived radioisotopes. The measurements were then extrapolated to determine the sea-level cosmogenic neutron activation rate, including the first experimental determination of the tritium production rate: (80±21) atoms/kg/day. These results will help constrain background estimates and determine the maximum time that NaI-based detectors can remain unshielded above ground before cosmogenic backgrounds impact the sensitivity of next-generation experiments.

Original language	English
Article number	022006
Journal	Physical Review D
Volume	107
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.107.022006
Publication status	Published - 15 Jan 2023

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10.1103/PhysRevD.107.022006

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title = "Cosmogenic activation of sodium iodide",

abstract = "The production of radioactive isotopes by interactions of cosmic-ray particles with sodium iodide (NaI) crystals can produce radioactive backgrounds in detectors used to search for rare events. Through controlled irradiation of NaI crystals with a neutron beam that matches the cosmic-ray neutron spectrum, followed by direct counting and fitting the resulting spectrum across a broad range of energies, we determined the integrated production rate of several long-lived radioisotopes. The measurements were then extrapolated to determine the sea-level cosmogenic neutron activation rate, including the first experimental determination of the tritium production rate: (80±21) atoms/kg/day. These results will help constrain background estimates and determine the maximum time that NaI-based detectors can remain unshielded above ground before cosmogenic backgrounds impact the sensitivity of next-generation experiments.",

author = "R. Saldanha and Thompson, {W. G.} and Zhong, {Y. Y.} and Bignell, {L. J.} and Tsang, {R. H.M.} and Hollick, {S. J.} and Elliott, {S. R.} and Lane, {G. J.} and Maruyama, {R. H.} and L. Yang",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the {"}https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/{"}Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.",

year = "2023",

month = jan,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1103/PhysRevD.107.022006",

language = "English",

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T1 - Cosmogenic activation of sodium iodide

AU - Saldanha, R.

AU - Thompson, W. G.

AU - Zhong, Y. Y.

AU - Bignell, L. J.

AU - Tsang, R. H.M.

AU - Hollick, S. J.

AU - Elliott, S. R.

AU - Lane, G. J.

AU - Maruyama, R. H.

AU - Yang, L.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

PY - 2023/1/15

Y1 - 2023/1/15

N2 - The production of radioactive isotopes by interactions of cosmic-ray particles with sodium iodide (NaI) crystals can produce radioactive backgrounds in detectors used to search for rare events. Through controlled irradiation of NaI crystals with a neutron beam that matches the cosmic-ray neutron spectrum, followed by direct counting and fitting the resulting spectrum across a broad range of energies, we determined the integrated production rate of several long-lived radioisotopes. The measurements were then extrapolated to determine the sea-level cosmogenic neutron activation rate, including the first experimental determination of the tritium production rate: (80±21) atoms/kg/day. These results will help constrain background estimates and determine the maximum time that NaI-based detectors can remain unshielded above ground before cosmogenic backgrounds impact the sensitivity of next-generation experiments.

AB - The production of radioactive isotopes by interactions of cosmic-ray particles with sodium iodide (NaI) crystals can produce radioactive backgrounds in detectors used to search for rare events. Through controlled irradiation of NaI crystals with a neutron beam that matches the cosmic-ray neutron spectrum, followed by direct counting and fitting the resulting spectrum across a broad range of energies, we determined the integrated production rate of several long-lived radioisotopes. The measurements were then extrapolated to determine the sea-level cosmogenic neutron activation rate, including the first experimental determination of the tritium production rate: (80±21) atoms/kg/day. These results will help constrain background estimates and determine the maximum time that NaI-based detectors can remain unshielded above ground before cosmogenic backgrounds impact the sensitivity of next-generation experiments.

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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevD.107.022006

DO - 10.1103/PhysRevD.107.022006

M3 - Article

SN - 2470-0010

VL - 107

JO - Physical Review D

JF - Physical Review D

IS - 2

M1 - 022006

ER -

Cosmogenic activation of sodium iodide

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