New C13(α,n)O16 Cross Section with Implications for Neutrino Mixing and Geoneutrino Measurements

M. Febbraro, R. J. deBoer, S. D. Pain, R. Toomey, F. D. Becchetti, A. Boeltzig, Y. Chen, K. A. Chipps, M. Couder, K. L. Jones, E. Lamere, Q. Liu, S. Lyons, K. T. Macon, L. Morales, W. A. Peters, D. Robertson, B. C. Rasco, K. Smith, C. Seymour, G. Seymour, M. S. Smith, E. Stech, B. Vande Kolk, and M. Wiescher
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 062501 – Published 7 August 2020

Abstract

Precise antineutrino measurements are very sensitive to proper background characterization. We present an improved measurement of the C13(α,n)O16 reaction cross section which constitutes significant background for large ν¯ detectors. We greatly improve the precision and accuracy by utilizing a setup that is sensitive to the neutron energies while making measurements of the excited state transitions via secondary γ-ray detection. Our results shows a 54% reduction in the background contributions from the O16(3,6.13  MeV) state used in the KamLAND analysis.

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  • Received 15 October 2019
  • Revised 7 May 2020
  • Accepted 29 May 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.062501

© 2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nuclear PhysicsParticles & Fields

Authors & Affiliations

M. Febbraro1, R. J. deBoer2, S. D. Pain1, R. Toomey3,4, F. D. Becchetti5, A. Boeltzig2,*, Y. Chen2, K. A. Chipps1, M. Couder2, K. L. Jones6, E. Lamere2,†, Q. Liu2, S. Lyons2,‡, K. T. Macon2, L. Morales2, W. A. Peters1,6, D. Robertson2, B. C. Rasco6,1, K. Smith6,∥, C. Seymour2, G. Seymour2,§, M. S. Smith1, E. Stech2, B. Vande Kolk2, and M. Wiescher2

  • 1Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
  • 2The Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
  • 3Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
  • 4University of Surrey, GU2 7XH, Guildford, United Kingdom
  • 5University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
  • 6University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA

  • *Present address: Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), Via G. Acitelli 22, 67100 Assergi (AQ), Italy.
  • Present address: Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell Massachusetts 01854, USA.
  • Present address: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
  • §Present address: Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
  • Present address: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA.

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Vol. 125, Iss. 6 — 7 August 2020

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