Measurements and calculations of air activation in the NuMI neutrino production facility at Fermilab with the 120-GeV proton beam on target

TL;DR

This paper combines measurements and advanced simulations to accurately predict air activation levels caused by high-energy proton beams at Fermilab, aiding environmental safety and facility design for neutrino experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a modified MARS15 Monte Carlo model for air activation prediction and validates it with experimental measurements at Fermilab.

Findings

Measured radionuclide production rates agree with simulations

The model accurately predicts key radionuclides like $^{11}$C, $^{13}$N, $^{15}$O, and $^{41}$Ar

Enhanced prediction capability for environmental impact assessments

Abstract

Measurements and calculations of the air activation at a high-energy proton accelerator are described. The quantity of radionuclides released outdoors depends on operation scenarios including details of the air exchange inside the facility. To improve the prediction of the air activation levels, the MARS15 Monte Carlo code radionuclide production model was modified to be used for these studies. Measurements were done to benchmark the new model and verify its use in optimization studies for the new DUNE experiment at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) at Fermilab. The measured production rates for the most important radionuclides - $^{11}$C, $^{13}$N, $^{15}$O and $^{41}$Ar - are in a good agreement with those calculated with the improved MARS15 code.