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arXiv · 2204.03109

Feasibility Study to use Neutron Capture for an Ultra-low Energy Nuclear-recoil Calibration in Liquid Xenon

C. S. Amarasinghe·R. Coronel·D. Q. Huang·Y. Liu·M. Arthurs·S. Steinfeld·R. Gaitskell·W. Lorenzon
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Abstract

The feasibility of an ultra-low energy nuclear-recoil measurement in liquid xenon using neutron capture is investigated for a small (sub-kilogram) liquid xenon detector that is optimized for a high scintillation gain, and a pulsed neutron source. The measurement uses the recoil energies imparted to xenon nuclei during the de-excitation process following neutron capture, where promptly emitted $\gamma$ cascades can provide the nuclei with up to $0.3$ keV$_\text{nr}$ of recoil energy due to conservation of momentum. A successful calibration of scintillation photon and ionization electron yields below this energy will contribute to a greater sensitivity for liquid xenon experiments in searches for light WIMPs.

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C. S. Amarasinghe, R. Coronel, D. Q. Huang, Y. Liu, M. Arthurs, S. Steinfeld, R. Gaitskell, W. Lorenzon. 2022-04-06. Feasibility Study to use Neutron Capture for an Ultra-low Energy Nuclear-recoil Calibration in Liquid Xenon. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.106.032007

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