arXiv subjects

B. T. Cleveland

Publications and source records attributed to B. T. Cleveland.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

High sensitivity measurement of 224Ra and 226Ra in water with an improved hydrous titanium oxide technique at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The existing hydrous titanium oxide (HTiO) technique for the measurement of 224Ra and 226Ra in the water at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) has been changed to make it faster and less sensitive to trace impurities in the HTiO eluate. Using HTiO-loaded filters followed by cation exchange adsorption and HTiO co-precipitation, Ra isotopes from 200-450 tonnes of heavy water can be extracted and concentrated into a single sample of a few millilitres with a total chemical efficiency of 50%. Combined with beta-alpha coincidence counting, this method is capable of measuring 2.0x10^3 uBq/kg of 224Ra and 3.7x10^3 uBq/kg of 226Ra from the 232Th and 238U decay chains, respectively, for a 275 tonne D2O assay, which are equivalent to 5x10^16 g Th/g and 3x10^16 g U/g in heavy water.

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arXiv2007

Radiochemical solar neutrino experiments

Radiochemical experiments have been crucial to solar neutrino research. Even today, they provide the only direct measurement of the rate of the proton-proton fusion reaction, p + p --> d + e^+ + nu_e, which generates most of the Sun's energy. We first give a little history of radiochemical solar neutrino experiments with emphasis on the gallium experiment SAGE -- the only currently operating detector of this type. The combined result of all data from the Ga experiments is a capture rate of 67.6 +/- 3.7 SNU. For comparison to theory, we use the calculated flux at the Sun from a standard solar model, take into account neutrino propagation from the Sun to the Earth and the results of neutrino source experiments with Ga, and obtain 67.3 ^{+3.9}_{-3.5} SNU. Using the data from all solar neutrino experiments we calculate an electron neutrino pp flux at the earth of (3.41 ^{+0.76}_{-0.77}) x 10^{10}/(cm^2-s), which agrees well with the prediction from a detailed solar model of (3.30 ^{+0.13} _{-0.14}) x 10^{10}/(cm^2-s). Four tests of the Ga experiments have been carried out with very intense reactor-produced neutrino sources and the ratio of observed to calculated rates is 0.88 +/- 0.05. One explanation for this unexpectedly low result is that the cross section for neutrino capture by the two lowest-lying excited states in 71Ge has been overestimated. We end with consideration of possible time variation in the Ga experiments and an enumeration of other possible radiochemical experiments that might have been.

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arXiv2006

The BNO-LNGS joint measurement of the solar neutrino capture rate in 71Ga

We describe a cooperative measurement of the capture rate of solar neutrinos by the reaction 71Ga(ν_e,e^-)71Ge. Extractions were made from a portion of the gallium target in the Russian-American Gallium Experiment SAGE and the extraction samples were transported to the Gran Sasso laboratory for synthesis and counting at the Gallium Neutrino Observatory GNO. Six extractions of this type were made and the resultant solar neutrino capture rate was 64 ^{+24}_{-22} SNU, which agrees well with the overall result of the gallium experiments. The major purpose of this experiment was to make it possible for SAGE to continue their regular schedule of monthly solar neutrino extractions without interruption while a separate experiment was underway to measure the response of 71Ga to neutrinos from an 37Ar source. As side benefits, this experiment proved the feasibility of long-distance sample transport in ultralow background radiochemical experiments and familiarized each group with the methods and techniques of the other.

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arXiv2005

Measurement of the response of a Ga solar neutrino experiment to neutrinos from an 37Ar source

An intense source of 37Ar was produced by the (n,alpha) reaction on 40Ca by irradiating 330 kg of calcium oxide in the fast neutron breeder reactor at Zarechny, Russia. The 37Ar was released from the solid target by dissolution in acid, collected from this solution, purified, sealed into a small source, and brought to the Baksan Neutrino Observatory where it was used to irradiate 13 tonnes of gallium metal in the Russian-American gallium solar neutrino experiment SAGE. Ten exposures of the gallium to the source, whose initial strength was 409 +/- 2 kCi, were carried out during the period April to September 2004. The 71Ge produced by the reaction 71Ga(nu_e,e^-)71Ge was extracted, purified, and counted. The measured production rate was 11.0 ^+1.0 _-0.9 (stat) +/- 0.6 (syst) atoms of 71Ge/d, which is 0.79 ^+0.09_-0.10 of the theoretically calculated production rate. When all neutrino source experiments with gallium are considered together, there is an indication the theoretical cross section has been overestimated.

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arXiv2003

Measurement of the cross section for the reaction 127I(neutrino,electron)127Xe_(bound states) with neutrinos from the decay of stopped muons

The cross section for the reaction 127I(neutrino,electron)127Xe_(bound states) has been measured for electron neutrinos from the decay of stopped muons to be [2.84 +/- 0.91 (stat) +/- 0.25 (syst)] x 10^(-40) cm^2. A tank containing 1540 kg of 127I in the form of NaI solution was placed 8.53 m from the LAMPF beamstop where it received a typical flux of 5 x 10^7 neutrinos/(cm^2 s). The 127Xe atoms produced by neutrino capture were extracted from the target solution, placed in miniature proportional counters, and their number was determined by counting. This is the first measurement of a neutrino capture cross section for an I nucleus and is in good agreement with a recent calculation.

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