Radon and material radiopurity assessment for the NEXT double beta decay experiment

Journal Article · Mon Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927990· OSTI ID:22488707

Cebrián, S.; Dafni, T.; González-Díaz, D.; Herrera, D. C.; Irastorza, I. G.; Luzón, G.; Ortiz de Solórzano, A.; Villar, J. A. ^[1]; Pérez, J. ^[2]; Bandac, I. ^[3]; Labarga, L. ^[4]; Álvarez, V.; Cárcel, S.; Cervera, A.; Díaz, J.; Ferrario, P.; Gómez-Cadenas, J. J.; Laing, A.; Liubarsky, I.; López-March, N. ^[5] ; others, and

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1. Laboratorio de Física Nuclear y Astropartículas, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/ Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009 Zaragoza (Spain)
2. Instituto de Física Teórica, UAM/CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain)
3. Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc, Paseo de los Ayerbe s/n, 22880 Canfranc Estación, Huesca (Spain)
4. Dpto. de Física Teórica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain)
5. Instituto de Física Corpuscular, CSIC & Universitat de València, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán, 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia (Spain)

The ”Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC” (NEXT), intended to investigate the neutrinoless double beta decay using a high-pressure xenon gas TPC filled with Xe enriched in {sup 136}Xe at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in Spain, requires ultra-low background conditions demanding an exhaustive control of material radiopurity and environmental radon levels. An extensive material screening process is underway for several years based mainly on gamma-ray spectroscopy using ultra-low background germanium detectors in Canfranc but also on mass spectrometry techniques like GDMS and ICPMS. Components from shielding, pressure vessel, electroluminescence and high voltage elements and energy and tracking readout planes have been analyzed, helping in the final design of the experiment and in the construction of the background model. The latest measurements carried out will be presented and the implication on NEXT of their results will be discussed. The commissioning of the NEW detector, as a first step towards NEXT, has started in Canfranc; in-situ measurements of airborne radon levels were taken there to optimize the system for radon mitigation and will be shown too.

• OSTI ID: 22488707
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1672, Issue 1; Conference: LRT 2015: 5. international workshop in low radioactivity techniques, Seattle, WA (United States), 18-20 Mar 2015; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
COMMISSIONING
DOUBLE BETA DECAY
ELECTROLUMINESCENCE
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY
GE SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
ICP MASS SPECTROSCOPY
NEUTRINOS
PRESSURE VESSELS
RADON
READOUT SYSTEMS
SHIELDING
TIME PROJECTION CHAMBERS
UNDERGROUND
XENON
XENON 136