Double Chooz Collaboration, H. de Kerret, Y. Abe, C. Aberle, T. Abrahão, J. M. Ahijado, T. Akiri, J. M. Alarcón, J. Alba, H. Almazan, J. C. dos Anjos, S. Appel,… 展开作者
Double Chooz Collaboration, H. de Kerret, Y. Abe, C. Aberle, T. Abrahão, J. M. Ahijado, T. Akiri, J. M. Alarcón, J. Alba, H. Almazan, J. C. dos Anjos, S. Appel, F. Ardellier, I. Barabanov, J. C. Barriere, E. Baussan, A. Baxter, I. Bekman, M. Bergevin, A. Bernstein, W. Bertoli, T. J. C. Bezerra, L. Bezrukov, C. Blanco, N. Bleurvacq, E. Blucher, H. Bonet, M. Bongrand, N. S Bowden, T. Brugière, C. Buck, M. Buizza Avanzini, J. Busenitz, A. Cabrera, E. Calvo, L. Camilleri, R. Carr, S. Cazaux, J. M. Cela, M. Cerrada, P. J. Chang, P. Charon, E. Chauveau, P. Chimenti, T. Classen, A. P. Collin, E. Conover, J. M Conrad, S. Cormon, O. Corpace, B. Courty, J. I. Crespo-Anadón, M. Cribier, K. Crum, S. Cuadrado, A. Cucoanes, M. D'Agostino, E. Damon, J. V. Dawson, S. Dazeley, M. Dierckxsens, D. Dietrich, Z. Djurcic, F. Dorigo, M. Dracos, V. Durand, Y. Efremekov, M. Elnimr, A. Etenko, E. Falk, M. Fallot, M. Fechner, J. Felde, S. M. Fernandes, C. Fernández-Bedoya, D. Francia, D. Franco, V. Fischer, A. J. Franke, M. Franke, H. Furuta, F. Garcia, J. Garcia, I. Gil-Botella, L. Giot, A. Givaudan, M. Göger-Neff, H. Gomez, L. F. G. Gonzalez, L. Goodenough, M. C. Goodman, J. Goon, B. Gramlich, D. Greiner, A. Guertin, B. Guillon, S. M. Habib, Y. Haddad, T. Hara, F. X. Hartmann, J. Hartnell, J. Haser, A. Hatzikoutelis, D. Hellwig, S. Hervé, R. Hofacker, G. Horton-Smith, A. Hourlier, M. Ishitsuka, K. Jänner, S. Jiménez, J. Jochum, C. Jollet, F. Kaether, K. Kale, L. Kalousis, Y. Kamyshkov, M. Kaneda, D. M. Kaplan, M. Karakac, T. Kawasaki, E. Kemp, Y. Kibe, T. Kirchner, T. Konno, D. Kryn, T. Kutter, M. Kuze, T. Lachenmaier, C. E. Lane, C. Langbrandtner, T. Lasserre, C. Lastoria, L. Latron, C. Leonardo, A. Letourneau, D. Lhuillier, H. P. Lima, M. Lindner, J. M. López-Castaño, J. M. LoSecco, B. Lubsandorzhiev, S. Lucht, J. Maeda, C. N. Maesano, C. Mariani, J. Maricic, F. Marie, J. J. Martinez, J. Martino, T. Matsubara, D. McKee, F. Meigner, G. Mention, A. Meregaglia, J. P. Meyer, T. Miletic, R. Milincic, J. F. Millot, A. Minotti, V. Mirones, H. Miyata, Th. A. Mueller, Y. Nagasaka, K. Nakajima, D. Navas-Nicolás, Y. Nikitenko, P. Novella, L. Oberauer, M. Obolensky, A. Onillon, A. Oralbaev, I. Ostrovskiy, C. Palomares, S. J. M. Peeters, I. M. Pepe, S. Perasso, P. Perrin, P. Pfahler, A. Porta, G. Pronost, J. C. Puras, R. Quéval, J. L. Ramirez, J. Reichenbacher, B. Reinhold, M. Reissfelder, A. Remoto, D. Reyna, I. Rodriguez, M. Röhling, R. Roncin, N. Rudolf, B. Rybolt, Y. Sakamoto, R. Santorelli, F. Sato, U. Schwan, L. Scola, M. Settimo, S. Schönert, S. Schoppmann, L. Scola, M. A. Shaevitz, R. Sharankova, V. Sibille, J. L. Sida, V. Sinev, D. Shrestha, M. Skorokhvatov, P. Soldin, J. Spitz, A. Stahl, I. Stancu, P. Starzynski, M. R. Stock, L. F. F. Stokes, M. Strait, A. Stüken, F. Suekane, S. Sukhotin, T. Sumiyoshi, Y. Sun, Z. Sun, R. Svoboda, H. Tabata, N. Tamura, K. Terao, A. Tonazzo, F. Toral, M. Toups, H. Trinh Thi, F. Valdivia, G. Valdiviesso, N. Vassilopoulos, A. Verdugo, C. Veyssiere, B. Viaud, D. Vignaud, M. Vivier, S. Wagner, C. Wiebusch, B. White, L. Winslow, M. Worcester, M. Wurm, J. Wurtz, G. Yang, J. Yáñez, F. Yermia, K. Zbiri
This article describes the setup and performance of the near and far detectors in the Double Chooz experiment. The electron antineutrinos of the Chooz nuclear power plant were measured in two identically designed detectors with different average baselines of about 400 m and 1050 m from the two reactor cores. Over many years of data taking the neutrino signals were extracted from interactions in the detectors with the goal of measuring a fundamental parameter in the context of neutrino oscillation, the mixing angle θ13. The central part of the Double Chooz detectors was a main detector comprising four cylindrical volumes filled with organic liquids. From the inside towards the outside there were volumes containing gadolinium-loaded scintillator, gadolinium-free scintillator, a buffer oil and, optically separated, another liquid scintillator acting as veto system. Above this main detector an additional outer veto system using plastic scintillator strips was installed. The technologies developed in Double Chooz were inspiration for several other antineutrino detectors in the field. The detector design allowed implementation of efficient background rejection techniques including use of pulse shape information provided by the data acquisition system. The Double Chooz detectors featured remarkable stability, in particular for the detected photons, as well as high radiopurity of the detector components.
Over the course of several decades, organic liquid scintillators have formed the basis for successful neutrino detectors. Gadolinium-loaded liquid scintillators provide efficient background suppression for electron antineutrino detection at nuclear reactor plants. In the Double Chooz reactor antineutrino experiment, a newly developed beta-diketonate gadolinium-loaded scintillator is utilized for the first time. Its large scale production and characterization are described. A new, light yield matched metal-free companion scintillator is presented. Both organic liquids comprise the target and "G…
This report is related to the testing performed at Drexel University of 250 R1408 PMTs. Based on this testing, 156 R1408 PMTs were chosen to be used in the inner veto of the detectors of the Double Chooz experiment.
Modern precision neutrino experiments like Double Chooz require a highly efficient trigger system in order to reduce systematic uncertainties. The trigger and timing system of the Double Chooz experiment was designed according to this goal. The Double Chooz trigger system is driven by the basic idea of triggering on multiple thresholds according to the total visible energy and additionally triggering on the number of active photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) in the detector. To do so, the trigger system continuously monitors the analogue signals from all PMTs in the detector. The amplitudes of these…
We present the results of afterpulse measurements performed as qualification test for 473 inner detector photomultipliers of the Double Chooz experiment. The measurements include the determination of a total afterpulse occurrence probability as well as an average time distribution of these pulses. Additionally, more detailed measurements with different light sources and simultaneous charge and timing measurements were performed with a few photomultipliers to allow a more detailed understanding of the effect. The results of all measurements are presented and discussed.
The Double Chooz neutrino experiment aims to measure the last unknown neutrino mixing angle theta_13 using two identical detectors positioned at sites both near and far from the reactor cores of the Chooz nuclear power plant. To suppress correlated background induced by cosmic muons in the detectors, they are protected by veto detector systems. One of these systems is the inner muon veto. It is an active liquid scintillator based detector and instrumented with encapsulated photomultiplier tubes. In this paper we describe the Monte Carlo aided design process of the inner muon veto, that resulte…
We present the waveform digitiser used in the Double Chooz experiment. We describe the hardware and the custom-built firmware specifically developed for the experiment. The performance of the device is tested with regards to digitising low light level signals from photomultiplier tubes and measuring pulse charge. This highlights the role of quantisation effects and leads to some general recommendations on the design and use of waveform digitisers.
Double Chooz is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment at Chooz, France. The purpose of this experiment is to measure the non-zero neutrino oscillation parameter theta13, a parameter for changing electron neutrinos into other neutrinos. This experiment uses reactors of the Chooz Nuclear Power Plant as a neutrino source. Double Chooz has published 2 result papers showing the measurement of the mixing angle, and 3rd publication is processing.
The first results from Double Chooz with 100 days of data measured $\sin^2(2θ_{13}) = 0.086 \pm 0.051$. Backgrounds contribute significantly to the systematic uncertainty budget. Using the incoming neutrino directionality we will attempt to further separate the inverse beta decay signal from backgrounds. The CHOOZ experiment completed a similar analysis and found that the neutrino source can be located to within a cone of half-aperture of 18 degrees at the 68% C.L. We study the possible improvement of this result by Double Chooz.
The Double Chooz experiment has observed 8,249 candidate electron antineutrino events in 227.93 live days with 33.71 GW-ton-years (reactor power x detector mass x livetime) exposure using a 10.3 cubic meter fiducial volume detector located at 1050 m from the reactor cores of the Chooz nuclear power plant in France. The expectation in case of theta13 = 0 is 8,937 events. The deficit is interpreted as evidence of electron antineutrino disappearance. From a rate plus spectral shape analysis we find sin^2 2θ13 = 0.109 \pm 0.030(stat) \pm 0.025(syst). The data exclude the no-oscillation hypothesis …
The hemispherical 10" photomultiplier tube (PMT) R7081 from Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK) is used in various experiments in particle and astroparticle physics. We describe the test and calibration of 474 PMTs for the reactor antineutrino experiment Double Chooz. The unique test setup at Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik Heidelberg (MPIK) allows one to calibrate 30 PMTs simultaneously and to characterize the single photo electron response, transit time spread, linear behaviour and saturation effects, photon detection efficiency and high voltage calibration.
Double Chooz main target is to measure Theta13 oscillation parameter by comparing reactor neutrino fluxes in two identical detectors located respectively at 400 m and 1 km away from the 2 Chooz reactor cores. The far detector is now under construction, while we have just completed the design phase of the near one. In this report I will discuss the detector principle, sensitivity and its present construction status.
Precise measurement of the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ is the primary goal of the Double Chooz Experiment (DC), which is located in Chooz, France. The inverse beta decay process provides a unique signature of reactor anti-neutrino interactions, giving prompt signals from positron annihilation and delayed signals from neutron capture by either Gadolinium (Gd) or Hydrogen (H). This paper is dedicated to the latest nH analysis in Double Chooz. Typically, The Gd analysis is primary since fewer background events are involved. However, with accurate estimates of backgrounds and a precise reconstr…
This paper describes the characterization studies under low magnetic fields of the Hamamatsu R7081 photomultipliers that are being used in the Double Chooz experiment. The design and performances of the magnetic shielding that has been developed for these photomultipliers are also reported.
The goal of Double Chooz experiment is a precise measurement of the last unknown mixing angle theta_13 using two identical detectors placed at far and near sites from Chooz reactor cores. The detector is optimized for reactor-neutrino detection using specially developed 10-inch PMTs. We developed two types of measurement systems and evaluated 400 PMTs before the installation. Those PMTs fulfill our requirements, and a half of those have been installed to the far detector in 2009. The character and performance data of the PMTs are stored in a database and will be referenced in analysis and MC s…
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) offers a unique way to study neutrino properties and to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Nuclear reactors are promising sources to explore this process at low energies since they deliver large fluxes of (anti-)neutrinos with typical energies of a few MeV. In this paper, a new-generation experiment to study CE$ν$NS is described. The NUCLEUS experiment will use cryogenic detectors which feature an unprecedentedly low energy threshold and a time response fast enough to be operated in above-ground conditions. Both sensitivity …
The latest results from the Double Chooz experiment on the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ are presented. A detector located at an average distance of 1050 m from the two reactor cores of the Chooz nuclear power plant has accumulated a live time of 467.90 days, corresponding to an exposure of 66.5 GW-ton-year (reactor power $\times$ detector mass $\times$ live time). A revised analysis has boosted the signal efficiency and reduced the backgrounds and systematic uncertainties compared to previous publications, paving the way for the two detector phase. The measured $\sin^2 2θ_{13} = 0.090^{+0.03…
The establishment of the neutrino oscillations phenomenon as a solution to both solar and atmospheric neutrino anomalies had two consequences: a new oscillation mode, labelled $\mathbf{θ_{13}}$, and the possibility to observe CP violation, if $\mathbf{θ_{13}}$ was sizeable. CP violation implies that neutrino oscillations behave differently for neutrinos and anti-neutrinos -- a rare fundamental phenomenon key for our understanding of the Universe. The experimental demonstration of $\mathbf{θ_{13}}$ has aided the completion of a quest lasting half a century. The best $\mathbf{θ_{13}}$ knowledge …
We present a search for signatures of neutrino mixing of electron anti-neutrinos with additional hypothetical sterile neutrino flavors using the Double Chooz experiment. The search is based on data from 5 years of operation of Double Chooz, including 2 years in the two-detector configuration. The analysis is based on a profile likelihood, i.e.\ comparing the data to the model prediction of disappearance in a data-to-data comparison of the two respective detectors. The analysis is optimized for a model of three active and one sterile neutrino. It is sensitive in the typical mass range $5 \cdot …
The spectral shape of reactor antineutrinos measured in recent experiments shows anomalies in comparison to neutrino reference spectra. New precision measurements of the reactor neutrino spectra as well as more complete input in nuclear data bases are needed to resolve the observed discrepancies between models and experimental results. This article proposes the combination of experiments at reactors which are highly enriched in ${}^{235}$U with commercial reactors with typically lower enrichment to gain new insights into the origin of the anomalous neutrino spectrum. The presented method clari…
We describe a muon track reconstruction algorithm for the reactor anti-neutrino experiment Double Chooz. The Double Chooz detector consists of two optically isolated volumes of liquid scintillator viewed by PMTs, and an Outer Veto above these made of crossed scintillator strips. Muons are reconstructed by their Outer Veto hit positions along with timing information from the other two detector volumes. All muons are fit under the hypothesis that they are through-going and ultrarelativistic. If the energy depositions suggest that the muon may have stopped, the reconstruction fits also for this h…
We report a novel correlated background in the antineutrino detection using the inverse beta decay reaction. Spontaneous fissions and $(α,n)$ reactions in peripheral materials of the antineutrino detector, such as borosilicate glass of photomultipliers, produce fast neutrons and prompt gamma rays. If the shielding from the material to the detector target were not thick enough, neutrons and gammas could enter the target volume and mimic antineutrino signals. This paper revisits the yields and energy spectra of neutrons produced in B$(α,n)$N and F$(α,n)$Na reactions. A Geant4 based simulation ha…
Liquid scintillators are a common choice for neutrino physics experiments, but their capabilities to perform background rejection by scintillation pulse shape discrimination is generally limited in large detectors. This paper describes a novel approach for a pulse shape based event classification developed in the context of the Double Chooz reactor antineutrino experiment. Unlike previous implementations, this method uses the Fourier power spectra of the scintillation pulse shapes to obtain event-wise information. A classification variable built from spectral information was able to achieve an…
A study on cosmic muons has been performed for the two identical near and far neutrino detectors of the Double Chooz experiment, placed at $\sim$120 and $\sim$300 m.w.e. underground respectively, including the corresponding simulations using the MUSIC simulation package. This characterization has allowed to measure the muon flux reaching both detectors to be (3.64 $\pm$ 0.04) $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ for the near detector and (7.00 $\pm$ 0.05) $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ for the far one. The seasonal modulation of the signal has also been studied observing a positive corre…
A $θ_{13}$ oscillation analysis based on the observed antineutrino rates at the Double Chooz far and near detectors for different reactor power conditions is presented. This approach provides a so far unique simultaneous determination of $θ_{13}$ and the total background rates without relying on any assumptions on the specific background contributions. The analysis comprises 865 days of data collected in both detectors with at least one reactor in operation. The oscillation results are enhanced by the use of 24.06 days (12.74 days) of reactor-off data in the far (near) detector. The analysis c…
The Double Chooz experiment presents improved measurements of the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ using the data collected in 467.90 live days from a detector positioned at an average distance of 1050 m from two reactor cores at the Chooz nuclear power plant. Several novel techniques have been developed to achieve significant reductions of the backgrounds and systematic uncertainties with respect to previous publications, whereas the efficiency of the $\barν_{e}$ signal has increased. The value of $θ_{13}$ is measured to be $\sin^{2}2θ_{13} = 0.090 ^{+0.032}_{-0.029}$ from a fit to the observed…
The yields and production rates of the radioisotopes $^9$Li and $^8$He created by cosmic muon spallation on $^{12}$C, have been measured by the two detectors of the Double Chooz experiment. The identical detectors are located at separate sites and depths, which means they are subject to different muon spectra. The near (far) detector has an overburden of $\sim$120 m.w.e. ($\sim$300 m.w.e.) corresponding to a mean muon energy of $32.1\pm2.0\,\mathrm{GeV}$ ($63.7\pm5.5\,\mathrm{GeV}$). Comparing the data to a detailed simulation of the $^9$Li and $^8$He decays, the contribution of the $^8$He rad…
This study presents a new concept of segmented antineutrino detector based on hexagonal plastic scintillator bars for detecting antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor core. The choice of hexagonal scintillator bars is original and provides compactness. The proposed detector detects antineutrinos via inverse beta decay (IBD) with the prompt-delayed double coincidence. Owing to its segmented structure, the background, which satisfies the delayed coincidence condition can be eliminated by applying proper event selection cuts. In this manner, the main focus is to determine proper selection criteria …
The Double Chooz experiment measures the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ by detecting reactor $\barν_e$ via inverse beta decay. The positron-neutron space and time coincidence allows for a sizable background rejection, nonetheless liquid scintillator detectors would profit from a positron/electron discrimination, if feasible in large detector, to suppress the remaining background. Standard particle identification, based on particle dependent time profile of photon emission in liquid scintillator, can not be used given the identical mass of the two particles. However, the positron annihilation i…
During the commissioning of the first of the two detectors of the Double Chooz experiment, an unexpected and dominant background caused by the emission of light inside the optical volume has been observed. A specific study of the ensemble of phenomena called "Light Noise" has been carried out in-situ, and in an external laboratory, in order to characterize the signals and to identify the possible processes underlying the effect. Some mechanisms of instrumental noise originating from the PMTs were identified and it has been found that the leading one arises from the light emission localized on …
The Double Chooz collaboration presents a measurement of the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ using reactor $\overlineν_{e}$ observed via the inverse beta decay reaction in which the neutron is captured on hydrogen. This measurement is based on 462.72 live days data, approximately twice as much data as in the previous such analysis, collected with a detector positioned at an average distance of 1050m from two reactor cores. Several novel techniques have been developed to achieve significant reductions of the backgrounds and systematic uncertainties. Accidental coincidences, the dominant backgrou…
Using the Double Chooz detector, designed to measure the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$, the products of $μ^-$ capture on $^{12}$C, $^{13}$C, $^{14}$N and $^{16}$O have been measured. Over a period of 489.5 days, $2.3\times10^6$ stopping cosmic $μ^-$ have been collected, of which $1.8\times10^5$ captured on carbon, nitrogen, or oxygen nuclei in the inner detector scintillator or acrylic vessels. The resulting isotopes were tagged using prompt neutron emission (when applicable), the subsequent beta decays, and, in some cases, $β$-delayed neutrons. The most precise measurement of the rate of $^{…
The programme Earth AntineutRino TomograpHy (EARTH) proposes to build ten underground facilities each hosting a telescope. Each telescope consists of many detector modules, to map the radiogenic heat sources deep in the interior of the Earth by utilising direction sensitive geoneutrino detection. Recent hypotheses target the core-mantle boundary (CMB) as a major source of natural radionuclides and therefore of radiogenic heat. A typical scale of the processes that take place at the CMB is about 200km. To observe these processes from the surface requires an angular resolution of about 3 degrees…
This publication provides a coherent treatment for the reactor neutrino flux uncertainties suppression, specially focussed on the latest $θ_{13}$ measurement. The treatment starts with single detector in single reactor site, most relevant for all reactor experiments beyond $θ_{13}$. We demonstrate there is no trivial error cancellation, thus the flux systematic error can remain dominant even after the adoption of multi-detector configurations. However, three mechanisms for flux error suppression have been identified and calculated in the context of Double Chooz, Daya Bay and RENO sites. Our an…
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a multipurpose neutrino-oscillation experiment, with a 20 kiloton liquid scintillator detector of unprecedented 3\% energy resolution (at 1 MeV) at 700-meter deep underground. There are ~18,000 20-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) in the central detector with an optical coverage greater than 75%. Control of the systematics of the energy response is crucial to archive the designed energy resolution as well as to reach 1% precision of the absolute energy scale. The detected number of photoelectrons in each PMT differs by two orders of magni…
Environmental radioactivity is a dominant background for rare decay search experiments, and it is difficult to completely remove such an impurity from detector vessels. We propose a scintillation balloon as the active vessel of a liquid scintillator in order to identify this undesirable radioactivity. According to our feasibility studies, the scintillation balloon enables the bismuth--polonium sequential decay to be tagged with a 99.7\% efficiency, assuming a KamLAND (Kamioka Liquid scintillator AntiNeutrino Detector)-type liquid scintillator detector. This tagging of sequential decay using al…
The SNO+ experiment is a large-scale, multipurpose neutrino experiment situated 2 km underground at SNOLAB in Canada. Successor to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, the SNO+ detector has inherited much of the original infrastructure including the 12-m diameter acrylic vessel which serves as the main detector body. Initially filled with ultrapure water, the SNO+ experiment has completed operations as a water Cherenkov detector, having set new limits on multiple invisible nucleon decay modes, performed measurements on $^8\mathrm{B}$ solar neutrinos, and made the first observation of reactor anti…
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a multi-purpose neutrino experiment. One of the main goals is to determine the neutrino mass ordering by precisely measuring the energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos. For reactor antineutrino detection, cosmogenic backgrounds such as $^9$Li/$^8$He and fast neutrons induced by cosmic muons should be rejected carefully by applying muon veto cuts, which requires good muon track reconstruction. With a 20~kton liquid scintillator detector, simulation shows the proportion of muon bundles to be around 8\% in the JUNO, while its reconstructio…
A brief overview of the development of neutrino detectors for long-baseline oscillation experiments at accelerators and reactors is presented. Basic principles and main features of detectors of running accelerator experiments T2K and NOvA sensitive to a first level of CP violation and neutrino mass hierarchy, and reactor experiments Daya Bay, RENO and Double Chooz which measured the mixing angle θ_13 are discussed. A variety of different experimental techniques is proposed and developed for the next generation oscillation experiments: a 20 kt scintillator detector for the reactor experiment JU…
