Speaker
Description
Next-generation experiments searching for extremely rare processes, such as neutrinoless double beta decay, require unprecedented control and understanding of radioactive backgrounds. Among these, radon and its progeny represent a dominant and challenging background source due to their mobility and ability to plate out on detector surfaces. The nEXO experiment, a proposed tonne-scale liquid xenon time projection chamber designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe, demands radon concentrations at or below the micro-becquerel level to achieve its targeted sensitivity. We focus on the isotope 222Rn, whose decay chain includes 214Bi, producing gamma emissions with energies close to the Q-value of the 136Xe double beta decay, making it a critical background for signal sensitivity. This talk will present the radon assay program developed at the University of Windsor in support of the nEXO collaboration. The program focuses on the design, construction, and characterization of high-sensitivity electrostatic chambers (ESCs) for radon emanation measurements. The developed assay infrastructure is intended to screen detector components that come into direct contact with liquid xenon or associated heat-transfer fluids, providing essential input for material selection and background modeling.
| Keyword-1 | neutrinoless double beta decay |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | nEXO |
| Keyword-3 | Neutrino physics |