DUSEL R&D: BetaCage: A Screener of Ultra-Low-Level Radioactive Surface Contamination

杜塞尔R

• 批准号: 0834453
• 负责人: Richard Schnee
• 金额: $ 20.08万
• 依托单位: Syracuse University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2012-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0834453&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DUSEL; R& BetaCage; Screener; Ultra

One of the great promises of the proposed Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) is to provide space shielded from cosmic-ray background particles for experiments that require extremely low backgrounds. These experiments seek to study the fundamental laws of physics, such as our understanding of how the sun shines, whether the neutrino is its own antiparticle, and what is the dark matter pervading the universe. However, to take full advantage of the shielding from cosmic rays, these experiments must be built from components with such low levels of radioactivity that even the best screening facilities available in shielded sites at the Earth's surface are insufficiently sensitive. New screening facilities must be built underground to allow these low-background experiments to succeed. This proposal seeks resources to build a detector that would be the world's most sensitive screener of radioactive surface contamination such as low-energy-electron emitting radioisotopes. This detector, dubbed the "BetaCage," will consist of an ultra-low-background multi-wire proportional chamber using neon gas at atmospheric pressure. This screener would have applications for rare-interaction physics experiments and trace radioactive counting applications. The BetaCage would detect electron rates low enough for the 150 kg stage of SuperCDMS to reach its design sensitivity for WIMP dark matter without being limited by misidentified low-energy electrons. The BetaCage would also be ideal for screening alphas, with important applications for dark matter searches, solar neutrino experiments, and neutrinoless double beta decay experiments, as well as for the Si-chip industry and for other scientific fields, many of general societal interest. Additional broader impacts will include the training of scientists in radiation-detection technologies and low-background techniques.

拟议的深层科学和工程实验室（Dusel）的巨大承诺之一是为需要极低背景的实验提供与宇宙射线背景颗粒相保护的空间。这些实验试图研究物理学的基本定律，例如我们对阳光的理解，中微子是其自身的反粒子以及遍布宇宙的暗物质是什么。但是，要充分利用宇宙射线的屏蔽，这些实验必须由具有低放射性的组件构建，以至于即使是地球表面的屏蔽地点中可用的最佳筛选设施也不足够敏感。必须在地下建造新的筛查设施，以使这些低背景实验成功。 该提案寻求资源来建造一个将成为世界上最敏感的放射性表面污染的筛选器，例如低能电子发射放射性同位素。该探测器被称为“ betacage”，将由在大气压下使用霓虹灯的超低地面多折叠比例室组成。该筛选器将有用于稀有相互作用物理实验和痕量放射性计数应用的应用程序。 BETACAGE将检测到足够低的电子速率，以使超过150千克的阶段达到对WIMP暗物质的设计敏感性，而不会受到错误识别的低能电子电子的限制。 Betacage也将是筛查Alpha的理想选择，在暗物质搜索，太阳中微子实验以及中微子双β衰减实验以及Si-Chip行业和其他科学领域（许多一般社会利益）中，具有重要的应用。其他更广泛的影响将包括对辐射检测技术和低背景技术的科学家进行培训。