Low-background {sup 3}He proportional counters for use in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Nuclear Physics Lab.
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); and others
Current solar neutrino detectors measure a considerably lower flux of electron-flavor neutrinos than predicted by solar models. This could be an indication of neutrino oscillations, which would provide direct evidence that neutrinos have mass. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) was designed to detect all flavors of neutrinos, and will provide a rigorous test of this theory. The SNO detector`s heavy water target gives it the unique ability to detect all non-sterile neutrino flavors via the neutral-current (NC) break-up of the deuteron. This NC interaction liberates a neutron which may be detected with an array of discrete {sup 3}He proportional counters. The strict radioactivity requirements imposed by the need for low backgrounds dictate the use of ultra-pure materials and processes in building these counters. Additionally, they must survive in the heavy water environment for several years. The design, construction, and testing of these unique counters are described.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 684549
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-981110-; ISSN 0018-9499; TRN: 99:010076
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 46, Issue 4Pt1; Conference: 1998 IEEE nuclear science symposium and medical imaging conference, Toronto (Canada), 10-12 Nov 1998; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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