Measuring Directionality in Double-Beta Decay and Neutrino Interactions with Kiloton-Scale Scintillation Detectors

TL;DR

This paper proposes a technique to determine particle direction in large liquid scintillator detectors by analyzing Cherenkov and scintillation light timing, enhancing neutrino research capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a new method for extracting particle direction using timing differences and evaluates detector improvements for practical implementation.

Findings

Timing differences enable directional reconstruction.

Detector advances improve directionality accuracy.

Potential for enhanced neutrino detection and double-beta decay searches.

Abstract

Large liquid-scintillator-based detectors have proven to be exceptionally effective for low energy neutrino measurements due to their good energy resolution and scalability to large volumes. The addition of directional information using Cherenkov light and fast timing would enhance the scientific reach of these detectors, especially for searches for neutrino-less double-beta decay. In this paper, we develop a technique for extracting particle direction using the difference in arrival times for Cherenkov and scintillation light, and evaluate several detector advances in timing, photodetector spectral response, and scintillator emission spectra that could be used to make direction reconstruction a reality in a kiloton-scale detector.