The radioactive source calibration system of the PROSPECT reactor antineutrino detector

Journal Article · Mon Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2019.162465· OSTI ID:1558235

Ashenfelter, J.; Balantekin, A. B.; Band, H. R.; Bass, C. D.; Bergeron, D. E.; Berish, D.; Bowden, N. S.; Brodsky, J. P.; Bryan, C. D.; Cherwinka, J. J.; Classen, T.; Conant, A. J.; Dean, D.; Deichert, G.; Diwan, M. V.; Dolinski, M. J.; Erickson, A.; Febbraro, M.; Foust, B. T.; Gaison, J. K. ; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Gilbert, C. E.; Hackett, B. T.; Hans, S.; Hansell, A. B.; Heeger, K. M.; Insler, J.; Jaffe, D. E.; Jones, D. C.; Kyzylova, O.; Lane, C. E.; Langford, T. J.; LaRosa, J.; Littlejohn, B. R.; Lu, X.; Caicedo, D. A. Martinez; Matta, J. T.; McKeown, R. D.; Mendenhall, M. P.; Mueller, P. E.; Mumm, H. P.; Napolitano, J.; Neilson, R.; Nikkel, J. A.; Norcini, D.; Nour, S.; Pushin, D. A.; Qian, X.; Romero-Romero, E.; Rosero, R.; Sarenac, D.; Surukuchi, P. T.; Telles, A. B.; Tyra, M. A.; Varner, R. L.; Viren, B.; White, C.; Wilhelmi, J.; Wise, T.; Yeh, M.; Yen, Y. -R.; Zhang, A.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, X.

The Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum (PROSPECT) Experiment is a reactor neutrino experiment designed to search for sterile neutrinos with a mass on the order of 1 eV/c2 and to measure the spectrum of electron antineutrinos from a highly-enriched 235U nuclear reactor. The PROSPECT detector consists of an 11 by 14 array of optical segments in 6Li-loaded liquid scintillator at the High Flux Isotope Reactor in Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Antineutrino events are identified via inverse beta decay and read out by photomultiplier tubes located at the ends of each segment. The detector response is characterized using a radioactive source calibration system. This paper describes the design, operation, and performance of the PROSPECT source calibration system.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Contributing Organization: PROSPECT collaboration
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0012704; SC0016357; SC0017660; SC0017815; SC0008347; SC0016060; SCW1504; AC52-07NA27344; AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1558235
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1560707; OSTI ID: 1564146; OSTI ID: 1574182
• Report Number(s): BNL-212009-2019-JAAM; LLNL-JRNL-787281
• Journal Information: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 944, Issue C; ISSN 0168-9002
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
Neutrino
Reactor
Calibration
Radioactive source
Scintillator
Detector
Physics - Physics of elementary particles and fields