arXiv subjects

B. Lehnert

Publications and source records attributed to B. Lehnert.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Measurement of the muon flux at SNOLAB using the DEAP-3600 experiment

A direct measurement of the muon flux at SNOLAB is performed using the DEAP-3600 experiment, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB near Sudbury, Canada. Primarily designed for the direct detection of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a dark matter candidate, DEAP-3600 consists of an inner spherical acrylic vessel containing a liquid argon target; this vessel is enclosed within a steel shell which is submerged in an instrumented water tank, serving as a muon veto for the dark matter search. The muon flux measurement is performed using a cut-and-count analysis of events observed in the muon veto detector and of events which are coincident between the muon veto and the liquid argon target. The requirement that muons traverse both the water and liquid argon minimizes instrumental backgrounds and systematic uncertainties. Using data collected from November 2016 to March 2020, the muon flux is measured by this coincidence analysis to be $(3.71 \pm 0.25_{\textrm{stat}} \pm 0.09_{\textrm{sys}}) \times 10^{-10}\, \mu/$cm$^2$/s. The standalone measurement using muon veto data only is compatible within uncertainties. Both measurements agree with the previous result by the SNO experiment and with simulations carried out using the MUTE software. These results provide an important benchmark for future rare-event searches at the SNOLAB facility.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

First evidence of neutrino absorption on argon using $^{8}$B solar neutrinos in DEAP-3600

We report experimental evidence for electron neutrino charged-current interactions (neutrino absorption, CC $ν_e$) from $^{8}$B solar neutrinos on $^{40}$Ar using an exposure of ($7.29 \pm 0.05$) tonne$\cdot$years in the DEAP-3600 detector. A region of interest (ROI) of 10.5-13.0 MeV reconstructed energy calibrated on single-peak events, corresponding to incident neutrino energy in 12.0-14.5 MeV, is used for this measurement. We observe 5 single-peak and 1 double-peak neutrino-like events consistent with the $^{8}$B solar neutrino energy spectrum in the ROI after correcting for nonlinearities in the detector response at high energies. With an expected background of $0.48~^{+0.16}_{-0.15}$ events, the data correspond to a significance of $4.0\,σ$ with respect to the background-only hypothesis. We report an energy-averaged cross section of $(4.0~^{+2.0}_{-1.6}~\mathrm{(stat)}~^{+0.8}_{-0.7}~\mathrm{(sys)})\times 10^{-41}\,\mathrm{cm}^2$ in the ROI for the CC $ν_{e}$ signal, a factor $(2.4~^{+1.3}_{-1.0})$ higher than predicted by Bhattacharya, Goodman and García (2009).

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Dark Matter Search with the DEAP-3600 Detector using the Profile Likelihood Ratio Method

We present here a search for WIMP dark matter using 790.8 live-days of data collected with 3269 kg of liquid argon (1266 kg fiducial) by the DEAP-3600 detector at SNOLAB, using the Profile Likelihood Ratio method. The likelihood model is based on three parameters: estimated energy, pulse-shape discrimination parameter, and reconstructed position within the detector. Using this method, the expected signal sensitivity of DEAP-3600 benefits from an increased fiducial volume and improved event selection acceptance. Alpha-decays from a small number of dust particulates circulating within the liquid argon target are the dominant source of background events and limit the sensitivity of this search. This result provides improved exclusion upper limits on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section on liquid argon for WIMP masses between 20 GeV/$c^{2}$ and 100 GeV/$c^{2}$. At 100 GeV/$c^{2}$ the observed limit is 3.4 $\times$ 10$^{-45}$ cm$^2$ at 90% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Position Reconstruction in the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Search Experiment

In the DEAP-3600 dark matter search experiment, precise reconstruction of the positions of scattering events in liquid argon is key for background rejection and defining a fiducial volume that enhances dark matter candidate events identification. This paper describes three distinct position reconstruction algorithms employed by DEAP-3600, leveraging the spatial and temporal information provided by photomultipliers surrounding a spherical liquid argon vessel. Two of these methods are maximum-likelihood algorithms: the first uses the spatial distribution of detected photoelectrons, while the second incorporates timing information from the detected scintillation light. Additionally, a machine learning approach based on the pattern of photoelectron counts across the photomultipliers is explored.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Relative Measurement and Extrapolation of the Scintillation Quenching Factor of $α$-Particles in Liquid Argon using DEAP-3600 Data

The knowledge of scintillation quenching of $α$-particles plays a paramount role in understanding $α$-induced backgrounds and improving the sensitivity of liquid argon-based direct detection of dark matter experiments. We performed a relative measurement of scintillation quenching in the MeV energy region using radioactive isotopes ($^{222}$Rn, $^{218}$Po and $^{214}$Po isotopes) present in trace amounts in the DEAP-3600 detector and quantified the uncertainty of extrapolating the quenching factor to the low-energy region.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Direct Measurement of the $^{39}$Ar Half-life from 3.4 Years of Data with the DEAP-3600 Detector

The half-life of $^{39}$Ar is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector located 2 km underground at SNOLAB. Between 2016 and 2020, DEAP-3600 used a target mass of (3269 $\pm$ 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the atmosphere in a direct-detection dark matter search. Such an argon mass also enables direct measurements of argon isotope properties. The decay of $^{39}$Ar in DEAP-3600 is the dominant source of triggers by two orders of magnitude, ensuring high statistics and making DEAP-3600 well-suited for measuring this isotope's half-life. Use of the pulse-shape discrimination technique in DEAP-3600 allows powerful discrimination between nuclear recoils and electron recoils, resulting in the selection of a clean sample of $^{39}$Ar decays. Observing over a period of 3.4 years, the $^{39}$Ar half-life is measured to be $(302 \pm 8_{\rm stat} \pm 6_{\rm sys})$ years. This new direct measurement suggests that the half-life of $^{39}$Ar is significantly longer than the accepted value, with potential implications for measurements using this isotope's half-life as input.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2025

Measurement of the inhomogeneity of the KATRIN tritium source electric potential by high-resolution spectroscopy of conversion electrons from $^{83m}$Kr

Precision spectroscopy of the electron spectrum of the tritium $β$-decay near the kinematic endpoint is a direct method to determine the effective electron antineutrino mass. The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to determine this quantity with a sensitivity of better than 0.3$\,$eV (90$\,$% C.L.). An inhomogeneous electric potential in the tritium source of KATRIN can lead to distortions of the $β$-spectrum, which directly impact the neutrino-mass observable. This effect can be quantified through precision spectroscopy of the conversion-electrons of co-circulated metastable $^{83m}$Kr. Therefore, dedicated, several-weeks long measurement campaigns have been performed within the KATRIN data taking schedule. In this work, we infer the tritium source potential observables from these measurements, and present their implications for the neutrino-mass determination.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2025

Improved sensitivity in the search for rare decays of Gd isotopes

Gadolinium is widely used in multiple low-background experiments, making its isotopes accessible for rare decay searches both in-situ and through radiopurity screening data. This study presents an improved search for rare alpha and double-beta decay modes in $^{152}$Gd, $^{154}$Gd, and $^{160}$Gd isotopes using ultra-low background HPGe detectors at the Boulby Underground Screening (BUGS) facility. A total exposure of 6.7 kg$\cdot$yr of natural gadolinium was achieved using gadolinium sulfate octahydrate $(\text{Gd}_2(\text{SO}_4)_3 \cdot 8\text{H}_2\text{O})$ samples, originally screened for radiopurity prior to their deployment in the Super-Kamiokande neutrino experiment. Due to the detection methodology, only decays into excited states accompanied by gamma-ray emission were accessible. A Bayesian analysis incorporating prior experimental results was employed, leading to new lower half-life limits in the range of $10^{19} - 10^{21}$ years - an improvement of approximately two orders of magnitude over previous constraints. No statistically significant decay signals were observed. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of repurposing large-scale radiopurity screening campaigns for fundamental physics research.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

First constraints on general neutrino interactions based on KATRIN data

The precision measurement of the tritium $β$-decay spectrum performed by the KATRIN experiment provides a unique way to search for general neutrino interactions (GNI). All theoretical allowed GNI terms involving neutrinos are incorporated into a low-energy effective field theory, and can be identified by specific signatures in the measured tritium $β$-spectrum. In this paper an effective description of the impact of GNI on the $β$-spectrum is formulated and the first constraints on the effective GNI parameters are derived based on the 4 million electrons collected in the second measurement campaign of KATRIN in 2019. In addition, constraints on selected types of interactions are investigated, thereby exploring the potential of KATRIN to search for more specific new physics cases, including a right-handed W boson, a charged Higgs or leptoquarks.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Measurement of the electric potential and the magnetic field in the shifted analysing plane of the KATRIN experiment

The projected sensitivity of the effective electron neutrino-mass measurement with the KATRIN experiment is below 0.3 eV (90 % CL) after five years of data acquisition. The sensitivity is affected by the increased rate of the background electrons from KATRIN's main spectrometer. A special shifted-analysing-plane (SAP) configuration was developed to reduce this background by a factor of two. The complex layout of electromagnetic fields in the SAP configuration requires a robust method of estimating these fields. We present in this paper a dedicated calibration measurement of the fields using conversion electrons of gaseous $^\mathrm{83m}$Kr, which enables the neutrino-mass measurements in the SAP configuration.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Direct neutrino-mass measurement based on 259 days of KATRIN data

The fact that neutrinos carry a non-vanishing rest mass is evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles. Their absolute mass bears important relevance from particle physics to cosmology. In this work, we report on the search for the effective electron antineutrino mass with the KATRIN experiment. KATRIN performs precision spectroscopy of the tritium $β$-decay close to the kinematic endpoint. Based on the first five neutrino-mass measurement campaigns, we derive a best-fit value of $m_ν^{2} = {-0.14^{+0.13}_{-0.15}}~\mathrm{eV^2}$, resulting in an upper limit of $m_ν< {0.45}~\mathrm{eV}$ at 90 % confidence level. With six times the statistics of previous data sets, amounting to 36 million electrons collected in 259 measurement days, a substantial reduction of the background level and improved systematic uncertainties, this result tightens KATRIN's previous bound by a factor of almost two.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Deep-underground search for the decay of 180m-Ta with an ultra-low-background HPGe detector

$^{180m}$Ta is the longest-lived metastable state presently known. Its decay has not been observed yet. In this work, we report a new result on the decay of \mTa obtained with a $2015.12$-g tantalum sample measured for $527.7$ d with an ultra-low background HPGe detector in the STELLA laboratory of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), in Italy. Before the measurement, the sample has been stored deep-underground for ten years, resulting in subdominant background contributions from cosmogenically activated $^{182}$Ta. We observe no signal in the regions of interest and set half-life limits on the process for the two channels EC and $β^-$: $T_{1/2,~\mathrm{EC}} > 1.6 \times 10^{18}$ yr and $T_{1/2,~β^-} > 1.1\times 10^{18}$ yr ($90$\% C.\,I.), respectively. We also set the limit on the $γ$ de-excitation / IC channel: $T_{1/2,~\mathrm{IC}} > 4.1 \times 10^{15}$ yr ($90$\% C.\,I.). These are, as of now, the most stringent bounds on the decay of $^{180m}$Ta worldwide. Finally, we test the hypothetical scenarios of de-excitation of $^{180m}$Ta by cosmological Dark Matter and constrain new parameter space for strongly-interacting dark-matter particle with mass up to $10^5$ GeV.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Precision Measurement of the Specific Activity of $^{39}$Ar in Atmospheric Argon with the DEAP-3600 Detector

The specific activity of the beta decay of $^{39}$Ar in atmospheric argon is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector. DEAP-3600, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB, uses a total of (3269 $\pm$ 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the atmosphere to search for dark matter. This detector with very low background uses pulseshape discrimination to differentiate between nuclear recoils and electron recoils and is well-suited to measure the decay of $^{39}$Ar. With 167 live-days of data, the measured specific activity at the time of atmospheric extraction is [0.964 $\pm$ 0.001 (stat) $\pm$ 0.024 (sys)] Bq/kg$_{\rm atmAr}$ which is consistent with results from other experiments. A cross-check analysis using different event selection criteria provides a consistent result.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

Final Results of GERDA on the Two-Neutrino Double-$β$ Decay Half-Life of $^{76}$Ge

We present the measurement of the two-neutrino double-$β$ decay rate of $^{76}$Ge performed with the GERDA Phase II experiment. With a subset of the entire GERDA exposure, 11.8 kg$\cdot$yr, the half-life of the process has been determined: $T^{2ν}_{1/2} = (2.022 \pm 0.018_{stat} \pm 0.038_{sys})\times10^{21}$ yr. This is the most precise determination of the $^{76}$Ge two-neutrino double-$β$ decay half-life and one of the most precise measurements of a double-$β$ decay process. The relevant nuclear matrix element can be extracted: $M^{2ν}_{\text{eff}} = (0.101\pm0.001).$

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

KATRIN: Status and Prospects for the Neutrino Mass and Beyond

The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is designed to measure a high-precision integral spectrum of the endpoint region of T2 beta decay, with the primary goal of probing the absolute mass scale of the neutrino. After a first tritium commissioning campaign in 2018, the experiment has been regularly running since 2019, and in its first two measurement campaigns has already achieved a sub-eV sensitivity. After 1000 days of data-taking, KATRIN's design sensitivity is 0.2 eV at the 90% confidence level. In this white paper we describe the current status of KATRIN; explore prospects for measuring the neutrino mass and other physics observables, including sterile neutrinos and other beyond-Standard-Model hypotheses; and discuss research-and-development projects that may further improve the KATRIN sensitivity.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Fundamental Symmetries, Neutrons, and Neutrinos (FSNN): Whitepaper for the 2023 NSAC Long Range Plan

This whitepaper presents the research priorities decided on by attendees of the 2022 Town Meeting for Fundamental Symmetries, Neutrons and Neutrinos, which took place December 13-15, 2022 in Chapel Hill, NC, as part of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) 2023 Long Range Planning process. A total of 275 scientists registered for the meeting. The whitepaper makes a number of explicit recommendations and justifies them in detail.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Search for resonant neutrinoless double electron capture in Gd-152 and other rare decays in Gd isotopes

A search for rare decays of gadolinium isotopes was performed with an ultra-low background high-purity germanium detector at Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory (Italy). A 198 g Gd$_2$O$_3$ powder sample was measured for 63.8 d with a total Gd exposure of 12.6 kg$\times$d. $^{152}$Gd is the most promising isotope for resonant neutrinoless double electron capture which could significantly enhance the decay rate over other neutrinoless double beta decay processes. The half-life for this decay was constrained to $>4.2\times10^{12}$ yr (90\% credibility). This limit is still orders of magnitude away from theoretical predictions but it is the first established limit on the transition paving the way for future experiments. In addition, other rare alpha and double beta decay modes were investigated in $^{152}$Gd, $^{154}$Gd, and $^{160}$Gd with half-life limits in the range of $10^{17-20}$ yr.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2022

Liquid argon light collection and veto modeling in GERDA Phase II

The ability to detect liquid argon scintillation light from within a densely packed high-purity germanium detector array allowed the GERDA experiment to reach an exceptionally low background rate in the search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{76}$Ge. Proper modeling of the light propagation throughout the experimental setup, from any origin in the liquid argon volume to its eventual detection by the novel light read-out system, provides insight into the rejection capability and is a necessary ingredient to obtain robust background predictions. In this paper, we present a model of the GERDA liquid argon veto, as obtained by Monte Carlo simulations and constrained by calibration data, and highlight its application for background decomposition.

physics.ins-det↗