Reconstructing the direction of reactor antineutrinos via electron scattering in Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors
Abstract
The potential of elastic antineutrino-electron scattering in a Gd-doped water Cherenkov detector to determine the direction of a nuclear reactor antineutrino flux was investigated using the recently proposed WATCHMAN antineutrino experiment as a baseline model. The expected scattering rate was determined assuming a 13-km standoff from a 3.758-GWt light water nuclear reactor and the detector response was modeled using a Geant4- based simulation package. Background was estimated via independent simulations and by scaling published measurements from similar detectors. Background contributions were estimated for solar neutrinos, misidentified reactor-based inverse beta decay interactions, cosmogenic radionuclides, water-borne radon, and gamma rays from the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), detector walls, and surrounding rock. We show that with the use of low background PMTs and sufficient fiducialization, water-borne radon and cosmogenic radionuclides pose the largest threats to sensitivity. Directional sensitivity was then analyzed as a function of radon contamination, detector depth, and detector size. The results provide a list of experimental conditions that, if satisfied in practice, would enable antineutrino directional reconstruction at 3σ significance in large Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors with greater than 10-km standoff from a nuclear reactor.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Nuclear Science and Security Consortium; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1332127
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1244654; OSTI ID: 1397773; OSTI ID: 1407958
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-679610
Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9002; PII: S0168900216310555; TRN: US1601866
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0000979; AC52-07NA27344; NA0003180
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 841; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9002
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; reactor antineutrinos; water Cherenkov detector; electron scattering; directionality; 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; nuclear reactor antineutrinos
Citation Formats
Hellfeld, D., Bernstein, A., Dazeley, S., and Marianno, C. Reconstructing the direction of reactor antineutrinos via electron scattering in Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2016.10.027.
Hellfeld, D., Bernstein, A., Dazeley, S., & Marianno, C. Reconstructing the direction of reactor antineutrinos via electron scattering in Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.10.027
Hellfeld, D., Bernstein, A., Dazeley, S., and Marianno, C. 2016.
"Reconstructing the direction of reactor antineutrinos via electron scattering in Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.10.027. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1332127.
@article{osti_1332127,
title = {Reconstructing the direction of reactor antineutrinos via electron scattering in Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors},
author = {Hellfeld, D. and Bernstein, A. and Dazeley, S. and Marianno, C.},
abstractNote = {The potential of elastic antineutrino-electron scattering in a Gd-doped water Cherenkov detector to determine the direction of a nuclear reactor antineutrino flux was investigated using the recently proposed WATCHMAN antineutrino experiment as a baseline model. The expected scattering rate was determined assuming a 13-km standoff from a 3.758-GWt light water nuclear reactor and the detector response was modeled using a Geant4- based simulation package. Background was estimated via independent simulations and by scaling published measurements from similar detectors. Background contributions were estimated for solar neutrinos, misidentified reactor-based inverse beta decay interactions, cosmogenic radionuclides, water-borne radon, and gamma rays from the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), detector walls, and surrounding rock. We show that with the use of low background PMTs and sufficient fiducialization, water-borne radon and cosmogenic radionuclides pose the largest threats to sensitivity. Directional sensitivity was then analyzed as a function of radon contamination, detector depth, and detector size. The results provide a list of experimental conditions that, if satisfied in practice, would enable antineutrino directional reconstruction at 3σ significance in large Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors with greater than 10-km standoff from a nuclear reactor.},
doi = {10.1016/j.nima.2016.10.027},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1332127},
journal = {Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment},
issn = {0168-9002},
number = C,
volume = 841,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Mon Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
Web of Science
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Works referencing / citing this record:
Neutrino Detectors as Tools for Nuclear Security
text, January 2019
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