Speaker
Dr
Susana Cebrian
(University of Zaragoza)
Description
The “Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC” (NEXT), intended to investigate neutrinoless double beta decay using a high-pressure xenon gas TPC filled with Xe enriched in 136Xe at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC, Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc) in Spain, requires ultra-low background conditions demanding an exhaustive control of material radiopurity and environmental radon levels.
An extensive material screening process is underway for several years based mainly on gamma-ray spectroscopy using ultra-low background germanium detectors at LSC but also on mass spectrometry techniques like GDMS and ICPMS. Components from shielding, pressure vessel, electroluminescence and high voltage elements and energy and tracking readout planes have been analyzed, helping in the final design of the experiment and in the construction of the background model. The most relevant measurements carried out will be presented.
The commissioning of the NEW detector, as a first step towards NEXT, has started in Canfranc; in-situ measurements of radon levels are being taken and the development of a sensitive detector based on micromegas readout for airborne radon levels and radon emanations is underway. The status of these radon measurements as well as plans for radon mitigation in the experiment will be summarized.
Finally, the implications on NEXT sensitivity for all these backgrund sources will be discussed.
Primary author
Dr
Susana Cebrian
(University of Zaragoza)
