Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Undergraduate
Project Type
individual
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Rylee Grover, Senior
Lead Presenter's Name
Rylee Grover
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Edwin Mierkiewicz
Abstract
Understanding the detection capabilities of water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) is critical for its deployment in next-generation neutrino detectors such as THEIA and Phase II of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). This study focuses on the characterization and alignment testing of an Americium-Beryllium (AmBe) radioactive neutron source. We plan to dope the 30-ton WbLS detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) with Gadolinium (Gd) to improve neutron detection capabilities. This will be tested by the implementation of an AmBe source as a calibration metric. The AmBe source emits neutrons coincident with a 4.4 MeV gamma ray, making it possible to perform tagged neutron studies in the 30-ton detector. With planned Gd doping, accurate source placement and response characterization are of high priority. This work involved testing spatial alignment, analyzing the AmBe energy spectrum to verify gamma ray tagging, and evaluating its suitability for future neutron detection benchmarking in these large scale neutrino detection experiments. Alignment analysis resulted in the design switch from a stainless-steel housing to an acrylic housing for the calibration setup, which includes the AmBe source, 4 Lutetium-Yttrium Oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystals, and a small photomultiplier tube (PMT). The results of the energy spectrum analysis suggest that the use of the AmBe radiation source is suitable to calibrate the neutron tagging in the 30-ton detector. These results contribute to the broader effort to validate WbLS as a scalable detector medium and inform the future implementation of metal-doped WbLS systems in high-precision neutrino experiments.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
Included in
Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons, Elementary Particles and Fields and String Theory Commons, Physical Processes Commons
Characterization of an AmBe Tagged Neutron Source for a 30-ton WbLS Detector
Understanding the detection capabilities of water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) is critical for its deployment in next-generation neutrino detectors such as THEIA and Phase II of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). This study focuses on the characterization and alignment testing of an Americium-Beryllium (AmBe) radioactive neutron source. We plan to dope the 30-ton WbLS detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) with Gadolinium (Gd) to improve neutron detection capabilities. This will be tested by the implementation of an AmBe source as a calibration metric. The AmBe source emits neutrons coincident with a 4.4 MeV gamma ray, making it possible to perform tagged neutron studies in the 30-ton detector. With planned Gd doping, accurate source placement and response characterization are of high priority. This work involved testing spatial alignment, analyzing the AmBe energy spectrum to verify gamma ray tagging, and evaluating its suitability for future neutron detection benchmarking in these large scale neutrino detection experiments. Alignment analysis resulted in the design switch from a stainless-steel housing to an acrylic housing for the calibration setup, which includes the AmBe source, 4 Lutetium-Yttrium Oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystals, and a small photomultiplier tube (PMT). The results of the energy spectrum analysis suggest that the use of the AmBe radiation source is suitable to calibrate the neutron tagging in the 30-ton detector. These results contribute to the broader effort to validate WbLS as a scalable detector medium and inform the future implementation of metal-doped WbLS systems in high-precision neutrino experiments.