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The neutron background of the XENON100 dark matter experiment

Aprile, E; Alfonsi, M; Arisaka, K; Arneodo, F; Balan, C; Baudis, L; Bauermeister, B; ... Weinheimer, C; + view all (2013) The neutron background of the XENON100 dark matter experiment. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics , 40 (11) , Article 115201. 10.1088/0954-3899/40/11/115201. Green open access

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Abstract

The XENON100 experiment, installed underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), aims to directly detect dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) via their elastic scattering off xenon nuclei. This paper presents a study on the nuclear recoil background of the experiment, taking into account neutron backgrounds from ($\alpha$,n) and spontaneous fission reactions due to natural radioactivity in the detector and shield materials, as well as muon-induced neutrons. Based on Monte Carlo simulations and using measured radioactive contaminations of all detector components, we predict the nuclear recoil backgrounds for the WIMP search results published by the XENON100 experiment in 2011 and 2012, 0.11$^{+0.08}_{-0.04}$ events and 0.17$^{+0.12}_{-0.07}$ events, respectively, and conclude that they do not limit the sensitivity of the experiment.

Type: Article
Title: The neutron background of the XENON100 dark matter experiment
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1088/0954-3899/40/11/115201
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0954-3899/40/11/115201
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1396116
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