Cherenkov and Scintillation Light Separation in Organic Liquid Scintillators

TL;DR

The paper demonstrates effective separation of Cherenkov and scintillation light in organic liquid scintillators, specifically in LAB and LAB/PPO, achieving high identification efficiency and providing insights into timing characteristics.

Contribution

First demonstration of Cherenkov and scintillation light separation in LAB/PPO, improving understanding of timing and separation efficiency in these scintillators.

Findings

Achieved 70% Cherenkov photon identification efficiency in LAB/PPO.

Measured scintillation rise time of approximately 0.75 ns.

Demonstrated separation techniques applicable to next-generation neutrino detectors.

Abstract

The CHErenkov / Scintillation Separation experiment (CHESS) has been used to demonstrate the separation of Cherenkov and scintillation light in both linear alkylbenzene (LAB) and LAB with 2g/L of PPO as a fluor (LAB/PPO). This is the first such demonstration for the more challenging LAB/PPO cocktail and improves on previous results for LAB. A time resolution of 338 +/- 12 ps FWHM results in an efficiency for identifying Cherenkov photons in LAB/PPO of 70 +/- 3% and 63 +/- 8% for time- and charge-based separation, respectively, with scintillation contamination of 36 +/- 5% and 38 +/- 4%. LAB/PPO data is consistent with a rise time of 0.75 +/- 0.25 ns.