Cherenkov and scintillation light separation using wavelength in LAB based liquid scintillator

Abstract

Linear alkyl benzene (LAB) has in recent years been used as a solvent for PPO in large-scale scintillation detectors, like Daya Bay and SNO+. The combination has several nice properties, including high light yield, good materials compatibility, and excellent pulse shape discrimination. As charged particles move through the LAB+PPO, both Cherenkov and scintillation light are created. Separating Cherenkov from scintillation light would allow a broad range of physics in future large-scale detectors like THEIA, by allowing direction reconstruction with Cherenkov light while retaining the high light yield and good particle ID of a scintillator detector. In this paper, we examine the discrimination of Cherenkov and scintillation light using a set of bandpass and dichroic filters. In principle, Cherenkov light emission extends longer in wavelength than the PPO scintillation spectrum, allowing for exclusive identification. We find that by selecting wavelengths above 450 nm the Cherenkov light can be clearly separated from the scintillation light.