Radon assay for SNO+

• DOI: 10.1063/1.4937697
• Publication Date: 2016-01-01T13:00:35Z
• Authors: Janet Rumleskie
• Keywords: 7. Clean energy; 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

The SNO+ experiment will study neutrinos while located 6,800 feet below the surface of the earth at SNOLAB. Though shielded from surface backgrounds, emanation of radon radioisotopes from the surrounding rock leads to back-grounds. The characteristic decay of radon and its daughters allows for an alpha detection technique to count the amount of Rn-222 atoms collected. Traps can collect Rn-222 from various positions and materials, including an assay skid that will collect Rn-222 from the organic liquid scintillator used to detect interactions within SNO+.