The neutron background of the XENON100 dark matter search experiment

Open Access
Authors
  • E. Aprile
  • M. Alfonsi
  • K. Arisaka
  • F. Arneodo
  • C. Balan
  • L. Baudis
  • B. Bauermeister
  • A. Behrens
  • P. Beltrame
  • K. Bokeloh
  • A. Brown
  • E. Brown
  • G. Bruno
  • R. Budnik
  • J.M.R. Cardoso
  • W.-T. Chen
  • B. Choi
  • A.P. Colijn
  • H. Contreras
  • J.P. Cussonneau
  • M.P. Decowski
  • E. Duchovni
  • S. Fattori
  • A.D. Ferella
  • W. Fulgione
  • F. Gao
  • M. Garbini
  • C. Ghag
  • K.-L. Giboni
  • L.W. Goetzke
  • C. Grignon
  • E. Gross
  • W. Hampel
  • F. Kaether
  • A. Kish
  • J. Lamblin
  • H. Landsman
  • R.F. Lang
  • M. Le Calloch
  • C. Levy
  • K.E. Lim
  • Q. Lin
  • S. Lindemann
  • M. Lindner
  • J.A.M. Lopes
  • K. Lung
  • T. Marrodán Undagoitia
  • F.V. Massoli
  • A.J Melgarejo Fernandez
  • Y. Meng
  • M. Messina
  • A. Molinario
  • K. Ni
  • U. Oberlack
  • S.E.A. Orrigo
  • E. Pantic
  • R. Persiani
  • G. Plante
  • N. Priel
  • A. Rizzo
  • S. Rosendahl
  • J.M.F. dos Santos
  • G. Sartorelli
  • J. Schreiner
  • M. Schumann
  • L. Scotto Lavina
  • P.R. Scovell
  • M. Selvi
  • P. Shagin
  • H. Simgen
  • A. Teymourian
  • D. Thers
  • E. Tziaferi
  • O. Vitells
  • H. Wang
  • M. Weber
  • C. Weinheimer
Publication date 2013
Journal Journal of Physics. G, Nuclear and Particle Physics
Article number 115201
Volume | Issue number 40 | 11
Number of pages 17
Organisations
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Institute of Physics (IoP)
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI)
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Institute of Physics (IoP) - Institute for High Energy Physics (IHEF)
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Institute of Physics (IoP) - Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam (ITFA)
Abstract

TheXENON100 experiment, installed underground at the LaboratoriNazionali del Gran Sasso, 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 (?, n) reactions and spontaneous fission due to natural radioactivity in the detector and shield materials, as well as muon-induced neutrons.Based on MonteCarlo simulations and using measured radioactive contaminations of all detector components, we predict the nuclear recoil backgrounds for the WIMP search results published by theXENON100 experiment in 2011 and 2012, 0.11-0.04 +0.08 events and 0.17-0.07 +0.12 events, respectively, and conclude that they do not limit the sensitivity of the experiment.

Document type Article
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1088/0954-3899/40/11/115201
Published at https://arxiv.org/abs/1306.2303
Other links https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84887092877
Downloads
1306.2303 (Accepted author manuscript)
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