The nEXO Radioassay Program

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive compilation of material radioactivity data crucial for designing low-background experiments like nEXO, providing restrictive constraints and detailed techniques for assessing radiopurity.

Contribution

It offers one of the most restrictive compilations of natural radioactivity constraints for materials used in low-background experiments, supporting the nEXO double-beta decay search.

Findings

Provides a detailed compilation of radioactivity data for materials.

Employs various techniques to measure and constrain natural radioactivity.

Supports the design of low-background experiments with restrictive constraints.

Abstract

Material radioactivity compilations, such as the one presented here, are important enablers of science. They are useful for the selection of radiopure materials used in the design and construction of low-energy rare-event search experiments. They allow researchers developing such experiments to save time on material studies and avoid costly duplication of effort. The data presented here were generated in support of the planned nEXO double-beta decay search. This work contains among the most restrictive constraints on the natural radioactivity content of materials of general interest to the low-radioactivity community, found in any tabulation of this kind. In this study, various techniques were employed; they are described here.