Cosmogenic production of Ar 37 in the context of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment

(The LUX-ZEPLIN Collaboration)

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6 Scopus citations

Abstract

We estimate the amount of Ar37 produced in natural xenon via cosmic-ray-induced spallation, an inevitable consequence of the transportation and storage of xenon on the Earth's surface. We then calculate the resulting Ar37 concentration in a 10-tonne payload (similar to that of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment) assuming a representative schedule of xenon purification, storage, and delivery to the underground facility. Using the spallation model by Silberberg and Tsao, the sea-level production rate of Ar37 in natural xenon is estimated to be 0.024 atoms/kg/day. Assuming the xenon is successively purified to remove radioactive contaminants in 1-tonne batches at a rate of 1 tonne/month, the average Ar37 activity after 10 tons are purified and transported underground is 0.058-0.090 μBq/kg, depending on the degree of argon removal during above-ground purification. Such cosmogenic Ar37 will appear as a noticeable background in the early science data, while decaying with a 35-day half-life. This newly noticed production mechanism of Ar37 should be considered when planning for future liquid-xenon-based experiments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number082004
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume105
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2022

Funding

The research supporting this work took place in whole or in part at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. Funding for this work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics under Award No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, No. DE-SC0020216, No. DE-SC0012704, No. DE-SC0010010, No. DE-AC02-07CH11359, No. DE-SC0012161, No. DE-SC0014223, No. DE-SC0010813, No. DE-SC0009999, No. DE-NA0003180, No. DE-SC0011702, No. DESC0010072, No. DE-SC0015708, No. DE-SC0006605, No. DE-SC0008475, No. DE-FG02-10ER46709, No. UW PRJ82AJ, No. DE-SC0013542, No. DE-AC02-76SF00515, No. DE-SC0018982, No. DE-SC0019066, No. DE-SC0015535, No. DE-SC0019193 No. DE-AC52-07NA27344, and No. DOE-SC0012447. This research was also supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF); the U.K. Science & Technology Facilities Council under Grants No. ST/M003655/1, No. ST/M003981/1, No. ST/M003744/1, No. ST/M003639/1, No. ST/M003604/1, No. ST/R003181/1, No. ST/M003469/1, No. ST/S000739/1, No. ST/S000666/1, No. ST/S000828/1, No. ST/S000879/1, No. ST/S000933/1, No. ST/S000747/1, and No. ST/S000801/1 (J. D.); the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under Grant No. PTDC/FIS-PAR/2831/2020; the Institute for Basic Science, Korea (budget No. IBS-R016-D1). We acknowledge additional support from the STFC Boulby Underground Laboratory in the United Kingdom, the GridPP and IRIS Consortium, in particular at Imperial College London and additional support by the University College London (UCL) Cosmoparticle Initiative. This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under award No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. This work was completed in part with resources provided by the University of Massachusetts’ Green High Performance Computing Cluster (GHPCC). The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with the registration number SC005336. The assistance of SURF and its personnel in providing physical access and general logistical and technical support is acknowledged.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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