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Author |
NEXT Collaboration (Novella, P. et al); Palmeiro, B.; Simon, A.; Sorel, M.; Martinez-Lema, G.; Alvarez, V.; Benlloch-Rodriguez, J.M.; Botas, A.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Kekic, M.; Laing, A.; Lopez-March, N.; Martinez, A.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Musti, M.; Nebot-Guinot, M.; Perez, J.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Rodriguez, J.; Romo-Luque, C.; Yahlali, N. |
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Title |
Measurement of radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2018 |
Publication |
Journal of High Energy Physics |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. High Energy Phys. |
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Volume |
10 |
Issue |
10 |
Pages |
112 - 27pp |
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Keywords |
Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments) |
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Abstract |
The measurement of the internal Rn-222 activity in the NEXT-White detector during the so-called Run-II period with Xe-136-depleted xenon is discussed in detail, together with its implications for double beta decay searches in NEXT. The activity is measured through the alpha production rate induced in the fiducial volume by Rn-222 and its alpha-emitting progeny. The specific activity is measured to be (38.1 +/- 2.2 (stat.) +/- 5.9 (syst.)) mBq/m(3). Radon-induced electrons have also been characterized from the decay of the Bi-214 daughter ions plating out on the cathode of the time projection chamber. From our studies, we conclude that radon-induced backgrounds are sufficiently low to enable a successful NEXT-100 physics program, as the projected rate contribution should not exceed 0.1 counts/yr in the neutrinoless double beta decay sample. |
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Address  |
[Hauptman, J.] Iowa State Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, 12 Phys Hall, Ames, IA 50011 USA, Email: sorel@ific.uv.es |
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Springer |
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English |
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1029-8479 |
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Conference |
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Notes |
WOS:000448191500001 |
Approved |
no |
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Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
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Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
3779 |
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Author |
NEXT Collaboration (Simon, A. et al); Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Lopez-March, N.; Martin-Albo, J.; Martinez, A.; Martinez-Vara, M.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Romo-Luque, C.; Sorel, M.; Uson, A.; Yahlali, N. |
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Title |
Boosting background suppression in the NEXT experiment through Richardson-Lucy deconvolution |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2021 |
Publication |
Journal of High Energy Physics |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. High Energy Phys. |
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Volume |
07 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
146 - 38pp |
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Keywords |
Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments) |
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Abstract |
Next-generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiments aim for half-life sensitivities of similar to 10(27) yr, requiring suppressing backgrounds to < 1 count/tonne/yr. For this, any extra background rejection handle, beyond excellent energy resolution and the use of extremely radiopure materials, is of utmost importance. The NEXT experiment exploits differences in the spatial ionization patterns of double beta decay and single-electron events to discriminate signal from background. While the former display two Bragg peak dense ionization regions at the opposite ends of the track, the latter typically have only one such feature. Thus, comparing the energies at the track extremes provides an additional rejection tool. The unique combination of the topology-based background discrimination and excellent energy resolution (1% FWHM at the Q-value of the decay) is the distinguishing feature of NEXT. Previous studies demonstrated a topological background rejection factor of <similar to> 5 when reconstructing electron-positron pairs in the Tl-208 1.6 MeV double escape peak (with Compton events as background), recorded in the NEXT-White demonstrator at the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc, with 72% signal efficiency. This was recently improved through the use of a deep convolutional neural network to yield a background rejection factor of similar to 10 with 65% signal efficiency. Here, we present a new reconstruction method, based on the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution algorithm, which allows reversing the blurring induced by electron diffusion and electroluminescence light production in the NEXT TPC. The new method yields highly refined 3D images of reconstructed events, and, as a result, significantly improves the topological background discrimination. When applied to real-data 1.6 MeV e(-)e(+) pairs, it leads to a background rejection factor of 27 at 57% signal efficiency. |
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Address |
[Hauptman, J.] Iowa State Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Ames, IA USA, Email: ander@post.bgu.ac.il; |
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Springer |
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English |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1029-8479 |
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Conference |
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Notes |
WOS:000677621700001 |
Approved |
no |
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Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
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Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
4906 |
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Author |
NEXT Collaboration (Henriques, C.A.O. et al); Gomez-Cadenas, J.J.; Alvarez, V.; Benlloch-Rodriguez, J.; Botas, A.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Ferrario, P.; Laing, A.; Liubarsky, I.; Lopez-March, N.; Martin-Albo, J.; Martinez, A.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Musti, M.; Nebot-Guinot, M.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Perez, J.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Rodriguez, J.; Serra, L.; Simon, A.; Sorel, M.; Torrent, J.; Yahlali, N. |
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Title |
Secondary scintillation yield of xenon with sub-percent levels of CO2 additive for rare-event detection |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2017 |
Publication |
Physics Letters B |
Abbreviated Journal |
Phys. Lett. B |
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Volume |
773 |
Issue |
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Pages |
663-671 |
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Keywords |
Double beta decay; Neutrino; Rare event detection; Electroluminescence; Secondary scintillation; Xenon |
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Abstract |
Xe-CO2 mixtures are important alternatives to pure xenon in Time Projection Chambers (TPC) based on secondary scintillation (electroluminescence) signal amplification with applications in the important field of rare event detection such as directional dark matter, double electron capture and double beta decay detection. The addition of CO2 to pure xenon at the level of 0.05-0.1% can reduce significantly the scale of electron diffusion from 10 mm/root m to 2.5 mm/root m, with high impact on the discrimination of the events through pattern recognition of the topology of primary ionization trails. We have measured the electroluminescence (EL) yield of Xe-CO2 mixtures, with sub-percent CO2 concentrations. We demonstrate that the EL production is still high in these mixtures, 70% and 35% relative to that produced in pure xenon, for CO2 concentrations around 0.05% and 0.1%, respectively. The contribution of the statistical fluctuations in EL production to the energy resolution increases with increasing CO2 concentration, being smaller than the contribution of the Fano factor for concentrations below 0.1% CO2. |
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Address |
[Henriques, C. A. O.; Freitas, E. D. C.; Mano, R. D. P.; Jorge, M. R.; Fernandes, L. M. P.; Monteiro, C. M. B.; dos Santos, J. M. F.] Univ Coimbra, Phys Dept, LIBPhys, Rua Larga, P-3004516 Coimbra, Portugal, Email: cristina@gian.fis.uc.pt |
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Elsevier Science Bv |
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English |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
0370-2693 |
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Conference |
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Notes |
WOS:000413294200099 |
Approved |
no |
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Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
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Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
3342 |
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Author |
NEXT Collaboration (Henriques, C.A.O. et al); Alvarez, V.; Benlloch-Rodriguez, J.M.; Botas, A.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Kekic, M.; Laing, A.; Lopez-March, N.; Martinez, A.; Martinez-Lema, G.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Musti, M.; Nebot-Guinot, M.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Perez, J.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Rodriguez, J.; Romo-Luque, C.; Simon, A.; Sorel, M.; Yahlali, N. |
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Title |
Electroluminescence TPCs at the thermal diffusion limit |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2019 |
Publication |
Journal of High Energy Physics |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. High Energy Phys. |
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Volume |
01 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
027 - 23pp |
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Keywords |
Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments); Photon production; Particle correlations and fluctuations; Rare decay |
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Abstract |
The NEXT experiment aims at searching for the hypothetical neutrinoless double-beta decay from the Xe-136 isotope using a high-purity xenon TPC. Efficient discrimination of the events through pattern recognition of the topology of primary ionisation tracks is a major requirement for the experiment. However, it is limited by the diffusion of electrons. It is known that the addition of a small fraction of a molecular gas to xenon reduces electron diffusion. On the other hand, the electroluminescence (EL) yield drops and the achievable energy resolution may be compromised. We have studied the effect of adding several molecular gases to xenon (CO2, CH4 and CF4) on the EL yield and energy resolution obtained in a small prototype of driftless gas proportional scintillation counter. We have compared our results on the scintillation characteristics (EL yield and energy resolution) with a microscopic simulation, obtaining the diffusion coefficients in those conditions as well. Accordingly, electron diffusion may be reduced from about 10 for pure xenon down to 2.5 using additive concentrations of about 0.05%, 0.2% and 0.02% for CO2, CH4 and CF4, respectively. Our results show that CF4 admixtures present the highest EL yield in those conditions, but very poor energy resolution as a result of huge fluctuations observed in the EL formation. CH4 presents the best energy resolution despite the EL yield being the lowest. The results obtained with xenon admixtures are extrapolated to the operational conditions of the NEXT-100 TPC. CO2 and CH4 show potential as molecular additives in a large xenon TPC. While CO2 has some operational constraints, making it difficult to be used in a large TPC, CH4 shows the best performance and stability as molecular additive to be used in the NEXT-100 TPC, with an extrapolated energy resolution of 0.4% at 2.45 MeV for concentrations below 0.4%, which is only slightly worse than the one obtained for pure xenon. We demonstrate the possibility to have an electroluminescence TPC operating very close to the thermal diffusion limit without jeopardizing the TPC performance, if CO2 or CH4 are chosen as additives. |
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Address |
[Henriques, C. A. O.; Monteiro, C. M. B.; Freitas, E. D. C.; Mano, R. D. P.; Jorge, M. R.; Fernandes, A. F. M.; Fernandes, L. M. P.; dos Santos, J. M. F.] Univ Coimbra, Phys Dept, LIBPhys, Rua Larga, P-3004516 Coimbra, Portugal, Email: pancho@gian.fis.uc.pt |
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Corporate Author |
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Thesis |
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Publisher |
Springer |
Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1029-8479 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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Notes |
WOS:000455157300002 |
Approved |
no |
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Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
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Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
3873 |
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Author |
NEXT Collaboration (Henriques, C.A.O. et al); Benlloch-Rodriguez, J.M.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Kekic, M.; Lopez-March, N.; Martin-Albo, J.; Martinez, A.; Martinez-Lema, G.; Martinez-Vara, M.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Romo-Luque, C.; Sorel, M.; Uson, A.; Yahlali, N. |
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Title |
Neutral Bremsstrahlung Emission in Xenon Unveiled |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Physical Review X |
Abbreviated Journal |
Phys. Rev. X |
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Volume |
12 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
021005 - 23pp |
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Keywords |
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Abstract |
We present evidence of non-excimer-based secondary scintillation in gaseous xenon, obtained using both the NEXT-White time projection chamber (TPC) and a dedicated setup. Detailed comparison with first-principle calculations allows us to assign this scintillation mechanism to neutral bremsstrahlung (NBrS), a process that is postulated to exist in xenon that has been largely overlooked. For photon emission below 1000 nm, the NBrS yield increases from about 10(-2) photon/e(-) cm(-1) bar(-1) at pressure-reduced electric field values of 50 V cm(-1) bar(-1) to above 3 x 10(-1) photon/e(-) cm(-1) bar(-1) at 500 V cm(-1) bar(-1). Above 1.5 kV cm(-1) bar(-1), values that are typically employed for electroluminescence, it is estimated that NBrS is present with an intensity around 1 photon/e(-) cm(-1) bar(-1), which is about 2 orders of magnitude lower than conventional, excimer-based electroluminescence. Despite being fainter than its excimeric counterpart, our calculations reveal that NBrS causes luminous backgrounds that can interfere, in either gas or liquid phase, with the ability to distinguish and/or to precisely measure low primary-scintillation signals (S1). In particular, we show this to be the case in the "buffer region, where keeping the electric field below the electroluminescence threshold does not suffice to extinguish secondary scintillation. The electric field leakage in this region should be mitigated to avoid intolerable levels of NBrS emission. Furthermore, we show that this new source of light emission opens up a viable path toward obtaining S2 signals for discrimination purposes in future single-phase liquid TPCs for neutrino and dark matter physics, with estimated yields up to 20-50 photons/e(-) cm(-1). |
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Address |
[Henriques, C. A. O.; Teixeira, J. M. R.; Monteiro, C. M. B.; Fernandes, A. F. M.; Fernandes, L. M. P.; Freitas, E. D. C.; dos Santos, J. M. F.] Univ Coimbra, Dept Phys, ILIBPhys, Rua Larga, P-3004516 Coimbra, Portugal, Email: henriques@uc.pt; |
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Corporate Author |
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Thesis |
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Publisher |
Amer Physical Soc |
Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
2160-3308 |
ISBN |
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Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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Notes |
WOS:000792590100001 |
Approved |
no |
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Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
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Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
5220 |
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