Radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT-100 experiment

TL;DR

This study measures radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT-100 detector, demonstrating effective radon mitigation and providing detailed background estimates crucial for neutrinoless double beta decay searches.

Contribution

First detailed measurement of radon backgrounds in NEXT-100, showing the effectiveness of radon abatement and background reduction techniques.

Findings

Internal Rn-222 activity is 0.95 Bq/m³.

Background index reduced to 4×10⁻⁵ counts/(keV·kg·yr) with topological cuts.

Detector operates in a virtually radon-free environment due to abatement.

Abstract

The NEXT-100 detector at the LSC aims at the first competitive search for the \bbnonu decay using a high-pressure \Xe{136} electroluminescent time projection chamber. The first low-background run of NEXT-100 at 3.95 bar has been devoted to the measurement of the radon-induced backgrounds impacting this search. The contributions from both the internal and external airborne radon have been evaluated. The internal \Rn{222} activity is found to be (0.95$\pm$0.04(stat)$\pm$0.09(sys)) Bq/m$^3$, while no traces of \Rn{220} have been observed. Most of the \Rn{222} progeny plate-out on the surface of the cathode of the detector, leading to a rate of Rn-induced \Bi{214} of (0.97$\pm$0.05(stat)$\pm$0.10(sys)) Hz for visible energies above 400 keV. The corresponding background index in the \bbnonu region of interest is evaluated as (7.3$\pm$1.5(stat)$\pm$0.8(sys))$\times10^{-4}$ counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$yr) after selection of the fully contained events. This background index is reduced to $\sim$4$\times10^{-5}$ counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$yr) by applying a topological selection requiring only one double-electron-like track in the events. This value is one order of magnitude below the total radiogenic background expectation in NEXT-100. By analyzing the correlation of the airborne radon activity and the measured rate of events in NEXT-100, it is concluded that the detector operates in a virtualy radon-free environment thanks to the radon abatement system of the LSC.