Shallow Underground Laboratory Research Articles

Underground nuclear astrophysics: Status and recent results from Felsenkeller laboratory

For almost three decades it has been known that the study of astro-physically important nuclear reactions between stable nuclei requires the use of low-background, underground accelerator laboratories. The Felsenkeller shallow-underground laboratory in Dresden, shielded by a 45 m thick rock cover, hosts a 5 MV Pelletron ion accelerator with an external sputter ion source (mainly able to provide carbon and oxygen beams) and an internal radio-frequency ion source (providing proton and alpha beams). The reduced muon, neutron and gamma-ray background achieved both with natural and active shielding situate the laboratory well in line with deep underground accelerator labs worldwide and allows highly sensitive nuclear reaction experiments. Currently, measurements affecting the solar fusion and Big Bang nucleosynthesis are ongoing. In addition to in-house research by HZDR and TU Dresden, the lab is an open facility for scientific users worldwide, with beam time applications reviewed by an independent science advisory board. Furthermore, EU-supported transnational access is available via the ChETEC- INFRA network for nuclear astrophysics. A brief introduction to underground nuclear astrophysics, status of the Felsenkeller shallow-underground laboratory and some preliminary results are discussed.

Improved S factor of the C12(p,γ)N13 reaction at E=320–620 keV and the 422 keV resonance

The 12C(p,{\gamma})13N reaction is the onset process of both the CNO and Hot CNO cycles that drive massive star, Red and Asymptotic Giant Branch star and novae nucleosynthesis. The 12C(p,{\gamma})13N rate affects the final abundances of the stable 12,13C nuclides, with ramifications for meteoritic carbon isotopic abundances and the s-process neutron source strength. Here, a new underground measurement of the 12C(p,{\gamma})13N cross-section is reported. The present data, obtained at the Felsenkeller shallow-underground laboratory in Dresden (Germany), encompass the 320-620 keV center of mass energy range to include the wide and poorly constrained E = 422 keV resonance that dominates the rate at high temperatures. This work S-factor results, lower than literature by 25%, are included in a new comprehensive R-matrix fit, and the energy of the 1+ first excited state of 13N is found to be 2369.6(4) keV, with radiative and proton width of 0.49(3) eV and 34.9(2) keV respectively. A new reaction rate, based on present R-matrix fit and extrapolation, is suggested.

A new ultra low-level HPGe activity counting setup in the Felsenkeller shallow-underground laboratory

A new ultra low-level counting setup has been installed in the shallow-underground laboratory Felsenkeller in Dresden, Germany. It includes a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe) of 163% relative efficiency within passive and active shields. The passive shield consists of 45 m rock overburden (140 meters water equivalent), 40 cm of low-activity concrete, and a lead and copper castle enclosed by an anti-radon box. The passive shielding alone is found to reduce the background rate to rates comparable to other shallow-underground laboratories. An additional active veto is given by five large plastic scintillation panels surrounding the setup. It further reduces the background rate by more than one order of magnitude down to 116(1) kg−1d−1 in an energy interval of [40 keV;2700 keV]. This low background rate is unprecedented for shallow-underground laboratories and close to deep underground laboratories.

Scintillation and optical properties of xenon-doped liquid argon

Liquid argon (LAr) is a common choice as detection medium in particle physics and rare-event searches. Challenges of LAr scintillation light detection include its short emission wavelength, long scintillation time and short attenuation length. The addition of small amounts of xenon to LAr is known to improve the scintillation and optical properties. We present a characterization campaign on xenon-doped liquid argon (XeDLAr) with target xenon concentrations ranging from 0 to 300 ppm by mass encompassing the measurement of the photoelectron yield Y, effective triplet lifetime τ 3 and effective attenuation length λ att. The measurements were conducted in the Subterranean Cryogenic ARgon Facility, Scarf, a 1 t (XeD)LAr test stand in the shallow underground laboratory (UGL) of TU-Munich. These three scintillation and optical parameters were observed simultaneously with a single setup, the Legend Liquid Argon Monitoring Apparatus, Llama. The actual xenon concentrations in the liquid and gaseous phases were determined with the Impurity DEtector For Investigation of Xenon, Idefix, a mass spectrometer setup, and successful doping was confirmed. At the highest dopant concentration we find a doubling of Y, a tenfold reduction of τ 3 to ∼90 ns and a tenfold increase of λ att to over 6 m.

Sensitivity and low-energy response of the Small Anode Germanium well detector with ceramic insert

A Small Anode Germanium (SAGe) detector was recently installed in the Shallow Underground Laboratory (SUL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The unique electrode structure and the short signal wire length in the detector guarantees superior energy resolution than traditional well detectors. The detector is inside an ultra-low background graded lead shield and is fitted with a CosmicGuardTM cosmic veto background reduction system. In this work, the capabilities of this SAGe well detection system were explored using samples with broad characteristics (a Heisenberg cube and individual samples containing 161Tb and 140Ba). The results demonstrate impeccable sensitivity of the system to resolve low-energy complex spectra and provide trustworthy activity estimates by correcting for cascade summing effects.

Dark matter-electron scattering from aromatic organic targets

Sub-GeV dark matter (DM) which interacts with electrons can excite electrons occupying molecular orbitals in a scattering event. In particular, aromatic compounds such as benzene or xylene have an electronic excitation energy of a few eV, making them sensitive to DM as light as a few MeV. These compounds are often used as solvents in organic scintillators, where the de-excitation process leads to a photon which propagates until it is absorbed and re-emitted by a dilute fluor. The fluor photoemission is not absorbed by the bulk, but is instead detected by a photon detector such as a photomultiplier tube. We develop the formalism for DM-electron scattering in aromatic organic molecules, calculate the expected rate in p-xylene, and apply this calculation to an existing measurement of the single photo-electron emission rate in a low-background EJ-301 scintillator cell. Despite the fact that this measurement was performed in a shallow underground laboratory under minimal overburden, the DM-electron scattering limits extracted from these data are already approaching leading constraints in the 3-100 MeV DM mass range. We discuss possible next steps in the evolution of this direct detection technique, in which scalable organic scintillators are used in solid or liquid crystal phases and in conjunction with semiconductor photodetectors to improve sensitivity through directional signal information and potentially lower dark rates.

Development of a cryogenic alpha-screening facility at the shallow underground laboratory at TUM

A precise measurement of the radio-purity levels of the CaWO4 crystals used for both the CRESST and the NUCLEUS experiment, is fundamental for a better background understanding. The sensitivity of HPGe detectors is not sufficient to the excellent radio-purity levels of the CaWO4 crystals produced in-house at the Technische Universität München (TUM). We report on a cryogenic α-screening facility which will provide a method to determine the radio-purity of this crystals by measuring the alpha-decays with a high precision, taking advantage of the unique experimental environment of the shallow underground laboratory (UGL) of the TUM.

Full Background Characterization of Felsenkeller Underground Laboratory

Felsenkeller underground laboratory is a new 140 m.w.e. deep shallow-underground laboratory housing a 5 MV Pelletron ion accelerator for studies of nuclear astrophysics in Dresden, Germany. The no-beam background has been extensively studied for muons, neutrons and γ-rays and obtained data were matched by Monte-Carlo simulations for muons and neutrons with excellent agreement.

Performance testing of a Compton suppressed coincidence measurements using the Advanced Radionuclide Gamma-spectrOmeter

A Compton-suppressed multidimensional gamma-spectrometer is being developed within the Shallow Underground Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, USA). This Advanced Radionuclide Gamma-spectrOmeter system consists of two Broad Energy Germanium detectors, surrounded by a 12-detector sodium iodide Compton suppression shield, situated inside a low-background lead and copper shield, fitted with a cosmic veto background reduction system. The detector has advanced functionality, including operation in single or combined detector mode, coincidence mode and Compton suppressed coincidence mode. Performance testing experiments measuring a neutron irradiated natural uranium sample, have demonstrated order of magnitude improvements in gamma detection sensitivity compared to conventional gamma-spectrometry techniques. Importantly this research demonstrates the feasibility of processing and analysing high-multiplicity datasets and the potential for high-detection sensitivity radionuclide measurements.

The muon intensity in the Felsenkeller shallow underground laboratory

The muon intensity and angular distribution in the shallow-underground laboratory Felsenkeller in Dresden, Germany have been studied using a portable muon detector based on the close cathode chamber design. Data has been taken at four positions in Felsenkeller tunnels VIII and IX, where a new 5 MV underground ion accelerator is being installed, and in addition at four positions in Felsenkeller tunnel IV, which hosts a low-radioactivity counting facility. At each of the eight positions studied, seven different orientations of the detector were used to compile a map of the upper hemisphere with 0.85∘ angular resolution. The muon intensity is found to be suppressed by a factor of 40 due to the 45 m thick rock overburden, corresponding to 140 m water equivalent. The angular data are matched by two different simulations taking into account the known geodetic features of the terrain: First, simply by determining the cutoff energy using the projected slant depth in rock and the known muon energy spectrum, and second, in a Geant4 simulation propagating the muons through a column of rock equal to the known slant depth. The present data are instrumental for studying muon-induced effects at these depths and also in the planning of an active veto for accelerator-based underground nuclear astrophysics experiments.

Muon-induced neutrons in lead and copper at shallow depth

Next generation low-background experiments require a detailed understanding of all possible radiation backgrounds. One important radiation source are muon-induced neutrons. Their production processes are up to now not fully understood. New measurements with MINIDEX (Muon-Induced Neutron Indirect Detection EXperiment) of the production of neutrons by cosmogenic muons in high-Z materials are reported. The setup is located at the Tübingen Shallow Underground Laboratory, which provides a vertical shielding depth of (13.2 ± 0.8) meter water equivalent at the setup location. Muon-induced neutrons are identified by the detection of 2.2 MeV gammas from their capture on hydrogen with high-purity germanium detectors. The experimental results were compared to Geant4 Monte Carlo predictions. The measured rate of 2.2 MeV neutron capture gammas for lead was found to be in good agreement with the Geant4 predicted rate. An external neutron yield of (7.2 -0.6+0.7) · 10−5 g−1 cm2 neutrons per tagged muon was determined for lead with the help of Geant4. For copper the measured rate was found to be a factor of 0.72 ± 0.14 lower than the Geant4 predicted rate. Using this factor an external neutron yield of (2.1 ± 0.4) · 10−5 g−1 cm2 neutrons per tagged muon was obtained for copper. An additional simulation was performed using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The FLUKA predicted rate of detected 2.2 MeV neutron capture gammas for lead was also found to be in good agreement with the experimental value. A detailed comparison of muon interactions and neutron production in lead for Geant4 and FLUKA revealed large discrepancies in the description of photo-nuclear and muon-nuclear inelastic scattering reactions for muon energies at shallow underground sites. These results suggest that Geant4, when used with Geant4 recommended or standard physics lists, underpredicts the neutron production in photo-nuclear inelastic scattering reactions while at the same time it overpredicts the neutron production in muon-nuclear inelastic scattering reactions.

Rigidity dependence of Forbush decreases in the energy region exceeding the sensitivity of neutron monitors

Applicability of our present setup for solar modulation studies in a shallow underground laboratory is tested on four prominent examples of Forbush decrease during solar cycle 24. Forbush decreases are of interest in space weather application and study of energy-dependent solar modulation, and they have been studied extensively. The characteristics of these events, as recorded by various neutron monitors and our detectors, were compared, and rigidity spectrum was found. Linear regression was performed to find power indices that correspond to each event. As expected, a steeper spectrum during more intense extreme solar events with strong X-flares shows a greater modulation of galactic cosmic rays. Presented comparative analysis illustrates the applicability of our setup for studies of solar modulation in the energy region exceeding the sensitivity of neutron monitors.

Use of neural networks to analyze pulse shape data in low-background detectors

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has accumulated years of data with ultra-low-background proportional counters collected in an on-site shallow underground laboratory. This large dataset of events is exploited to study the impact of using neural networks for data analysis compared to simple pulse shape discrimination (PSD). The PSD method can introduce false positives for overlapping event distributions; however, a neural network can separate and correctly classify these events. This paper describes the training, testing, and validation of a neural network, analysis of challenge datasets, and a comparison between the standard PSD approach and a dense, fully-connected neural network.

Direct measurement of neutrons induced in lead by cosmic muons at a shallow underground site

Neutron production in lead by cosmic muons has been studied with a Gadolinium doped liquid scintillator detector. The detector was installed next to the Muon-Induced Neutron Indirect Detection EXperiment (MINIDEX), permanently located in the Tübingen shallow underground laboratory where the mean muon energy is approximately 7 GeV. The MINIDEX plastic scintillators were used to tag muons; the neutrons were detected through neutron capture and neutron-induced nuclear recoil signals in the liquid scintillator detector. Results on the rates of observed neutron captures and nuclear recoils are presented and compared to predictions from GEANT4-9.6 and GEANT4-10.3. The predicted rates are significantly too low for both versions of GEANT4. For neutron capture events, the observation exceeds the predictions by factors of 1.65 ± 0.02 (stat.) ± 0.07 (syst.) and 2.58 ± 0.03 (stat.) ± 0.11 (syst.) for GEANT4-9.6 and GEANT4-10.3, respectively. For neutron nuclear recoil events, which require neutron energies above approximately 5 MeV, the factors are even larger, 2.22 ± 0.05 (stat.) ± 0.25 (syst.) and 3.76 ± 0.09 (stat.) ± 0.41 (syst.), respectively. Also presented is the first statistically significant measurement of the spectrum of neutrons induced by cosmic muons in lead between 5 and 40 MeV. It was obtained by unfolding the nuclear recoil spectrum. The observed neutron spectrum is harder than predicted by GEANT4. An investigation of the distribution of the time difference between muon tags and nuclear recoil signals confirms the validity of the unfolding procedure and shows that GEANT4 cannot properly describe the time distribution of nuclear recoil events. In general, the description of the data is worse for GEANT4-10.3 than for GEANT4-9.6.

A Cryogenic Detector Characterization Facility in the Shallow Underground Laboratory at the Technical University of Munich

The Physics Department of the Technical University of Munich operates a shallow underground detector laboratory in Garching, Germany. It provides \(\sim 160\,{\mathrm{m}^2}\) of laboratory space which is shielded from cosmic radiation by \(\sim 6\,\mathrm{m}\) of gravel and soil, corresponding to a shielding of \(\sim 15\,{\mathrm{m.w.e.}}\). The laboratory also houses a cleanroom equipped with work- and wetbenches, a chemical fumehood as well as a spin-coater and a mask-aligner for photolithographic processing of semiconductor detectors. Furthermore, the shallow underground laboratory runs two high-purity germanium detector screening stations, a liquid argon cryostat and a \(^3\)He–\(^4\)He dilution refrigerator with a base temperature of \(\le 12-14\,\mathrm{mK}\). The infrastructure provided by the shallow laboratory is particularly relevant for the characterization of \(\hbox {CaWO}_4\) target crystals for the CRESST-III experiment, detector fabrication and assembly for rare event searches. Future applications of the laboratory include detector development in the framework of coherent neutrino nucleus scattering experiments (\(\nu \)-cleus) and studying its potential as a site to search for MeV-scale dark matter with gram-scale cryogenic detectors.

An underground laboratory as a facility for studies of cosmic-ray solar modulation

The possibility of utilizing a shallow underground laboratory for the study of energy dependent solar modulation process is investigated. The laboratory is equipped with muon detectors at ground level and underground (25mwe), and with an underground asymmetric muon telescope to have a single site detection system sensitive to different median energies of primary cosmic-ray particles. The detector response functions to galactic cosmic rays are determined from Monte Carlo simulation of muon generation and propagation through the atmosphere and soil, based on CORSIKA and GEANT4 simulation packages. The present setup is suitable for studies of energy dependence of Forbush decreases and other transient or quasi-periodic cosmic-ray variations.

Development of a multidimensional gamma-spectrometer

A high-sensitivity multidimensional gamma-spectrometer is being developed within the shallow underground laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, USA). The system consists of two broad energy germanium detectors, inside a low-background shield, fitted with a cosmic veto system. The detector has advanced functionality, including operation in single or combined detector mode, with reductions in the cosmic background of 49.6% and Compton suppression of 6.5%. For selected radionuclides this provides increased peak identification, reductions in uncertainty of 27.6% and MDA improvements of 52.7%. The design uses commercially off-the-shelf components to provide a powerful solution for low-level nuclear measurements.

Development of a low-level 39Ar calibration standard – Analysis by absolute gas counting measurements augmented with simulation

This paper describes the generation of 39Ar, via reactor irradiation of potassium carbonate, followed by quantitative analysis (length-compensated proportional counting) to yield two calibration standards that are respectively 50 and 3 times atmospheric background levels. Measurements were performed in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's shallow underground counting laboratory studying the effect of gas density on beta-transport; these results are compared with simulation. The total expanded uncertainty of the specific activity for the ~50× 39Ar in P10 standard is 3.6% (k=2).

A novel muon detector for borehole density tomography

Muons can be used to image the density of materials through which they pass, including geological structures. Subsurface applications of the technology include tracking fluid migration during injection or production, with increasing concern regarding such timely issues as induced seismicity or chemical leakage into aquifers. Current density monitoring options include gravimetric data collection and active or passive seismic surveys. One alternative, or complement, to these methods is the development of a muon detector that is sufficiently compact and robust for deployment in a borehole. Such a muon detector can enable imaging of density structure to monitor small changes in density – a proxy for fluid migration – at depths up to 1500m. Such a detector has been developed, and Monte Carlo modeling methods applied to simulate the anticipated detector response. Testing and measurements using a prototype detector in the laboratory and shallow underground laboratory demonstrated robust response. A satisfactory comparison with a large drift tube-based muon detector is also presented.

Low-background gamma-ray spectrometry for the international monitoring system

PNNL has developed two low-background gamma-ray spectrometers in a new shallow underground laboratory, thereby significantly improving its ability to detect low levels of gamma-ray emitting fission or activation products in airborne particulate in samples from the IMS (International Monitoring System). The combination of cosmic veto panels, dry nitrogen gas to reduce radon and low background shielding results in a reduction of the background count rate by about a factor of 100 compared to detectors operating above ground at our laboratory.