Ultra-pure NaI(Tl) crystals are the key element for a model-independent verification of the long standing DAMA result and a powerful means to search for the annual modulation signature of dark matter interactions. The SABRE collaboration has been developing cutting-edge techniques for the reduction of intrinsic backgrounds over several years. In this paper we report the first characterization of a 3.4 kg crystal, named NaI-33, performed in an underground passive shielding setup at LNGS. NaI-33 has a record low 39K contamination of 4.3 ± 0.2 ppb as determined by mass spectrometry. We measured a light yield of 11.1 ± 0.2 photoelectrons/keV and an energy resolution of 13.2% (FWHM/E) at 59.5 keV. We evaluated the activities of 226Ra and 228Th inside the crystal to be 5.9±0.6μBq/kg and 1.6±0.3μBq/kg, respectively, which would indicate a contamination from 238U and 232Th at part-per-trillion level. We measured an activity of 0.51 ± 0.02 mBq/kg due to 210Pb out of equilibrium and a α quenching factor of 0.63 ± 0.01 at 5304 keV. We illustrate the analyses techniques developed to reject electronic noise in the lower part of the energy spectrum. A cut-based strategy and a multivariate approach indicated a rate, attributed to the intrinsic radioactivity of the crystal, of ∼ 1 count/day/kg/keV in the [5–20] keV region.

Characterization of SABRE crystal NaI-33 with direct underground counting / M. Antonello, I.J. Arnquist, E. Barberio, T. Baroncelli, J. Benziger, L.J. Bignell, I. Bolognino, F. Calaprice, S. Copello, I. Dafinei, D. D'Angelo, G. D'Imperio, M. D'Incecco, G. Di Carlo, M. Diemoz, A. Di Giacinto, A. Di Ludovico, W. Dix, A.R. Duffy, E. Hoppe, A. Ianni, M. Iannone, L. Ioannucci, S. Krishnan, G.J. Lane, I. Mahmood, A. Mariani, S. Milana, J. Mould, F. Nuti, D. Orlandi, V. Pettinacci, L. Pietrofaccia, S. Rahatlou, F. Scutti, M. Souza, A.E. Stuchbery, B. Suerfu, C. Tomei, P. Urquijo, C. Vignoli, A. Wallner, M. Wada, A.G. Williams, A. Zani, M. Zurowski. - In: THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. C, PARTICLES AND FIELDS. - ISSN 1434-6044. - 81:4(2021), pp. 299.1-299.11. [10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09098-5]

Characterization of SABRE crystal NaI-33 with direct underground counting

D. D'Angelo;
2021

Abstract

Ultra-pure NaI(Tl) crystals are the key element for a model-independent verification of the long standing DAMA result and a powerful means to search for the annual modulation signature of dark matter interactions. The SABRE collaboration has been developing cutting-edge techniques for the reduction of intrinsic backgrounds over several years. In this paper we report the first characterization of a 3.4 kg crystal, named NaI-33, performed in an underground passive shielding setup at LNGS. NaI-33 has a record low 39K contamination of 4.3 ± 0.2 ppb as determined by mass spectrometry. We measured a light yield of 11.1 ± 0.2 photoelectrons/keV and an energy resolution of 13.2% (FWHM/E) at 59.5 keV. We evaluated the activities of 226Ra and 228Th inside the crystal to be 5.9±0.6μBq/kg and 1.6±0.3μBq/kg, respectively, which would indicate a contamination from 238U and 232Th at part-per-trillion level. We measured an activity of 0.51 ± 0.02 mBq/kg due to 210Pb out of equilibrium and a α quenching factor of 0.63 ± 0.01 at 5304 keV. We illustrate the analyses techniques developed to reject electronic noise in the lower part of the energy spectrum. A cut-based strategy and a multivariate approach indicated a rate, attributed to the intrinsic radioactivity of the crystal, of ∼ 1 count/day/kg/keV in the [5–20] keV region.
Settore FIS/01 - Fisica Sperimentale
Settore FIS/04 - Fisica Nucleare e Subnucleare
2021
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
2021_04_SABRE_hall_B.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 3.94 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.94 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/852928
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 14
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 12
social impact