Measurement of the Neutron Flux Produced by Cosmic-Ray Muons with LVD at Gran Sasso

TL;DR

This study measures the neutron flux generated by cosmic-ray muons at Gran Sasso using LVD data, providing insights into background signals for underground rare event searches.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed measurement of muon-induced neutron flux at various distances from muon tracks in an underground environment.

Findings

Neutron flux decreases with distance from muon track

Quantitative estimates of neutron background levels

Data useful for designing underground experiments

Abstract

The flux of muon-produced neutrons far away from the muon track may constitute a background for the underground detectors searching for rare events. The muon events collected by the first LVD tower from March, 1996, to February, 1998, (1.56 years of live time) were used to estimate the neutron flux at various distances from the muon track or muon-produced cascade.