Pattern recognition techniques to reduce backgrounds in the search for the {sup 136}Xe double beta decay with gaseous TPCs
- Laboratorio de Física Nuclear y Astropartículas, Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)
The observation of the neutrinoless double beta decay may provide essential information on the nature of neutrinos. Among the current experimental approaches, a high pressure gaseous TPC is an attractive option for the search of double beta decay due to its good energy resolution and the detailed topological information of each event. We present in this talk a detailed study of the ionization topology of the {sup 136}Xe double beta decay events in a High Pressure Xenon TPC, as well as that of the typical competing backgrounds. We define some observables based on graph theory concepts to develop automated discrimination algorithms. Our criteria are able to reduce the background level by about three orders of magnitude in the region of interest of the {sup 136}Xe Q{sub ββ} for a signal acceptance of 40%. This result provides a quantitative assessment of the benefit of topological information offered by gaseous TPCs for double beta decay search, and proves that it is a promising feature in view of future experiments in the field. Possible ideas for further improvement in the discrimination algorithms and the dependency of these results with the gas diffusion and readout granularity will be also discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 22218197
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1549, Issue 1; Conference: LRT 2013: 4. international workshop on low radioactivity techniques, Assergi (Italy), 10-12 Apr 2013; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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