Speaker
Dr
Vicente Pesudo
(CIEMAT)
Description
The neutron production induced by ($\alpha$,n) reactions is important in various scenarios. One of the most relevant
ones is the direct search of WIMP-like dark matter in underground experiments, like DarkSide-20k, where the neutrons produced by the $\alpha$-decay from
radioactive contaminants in the detector materials can produce an irreducible background, limiting the
sensitivity of the experiment. A precise estimate of the background due to these neutrons is crucial for the
experiments currently taking data and for the design of the next generation of detectors.
In this work we present new functionalities that allow to read ($\alpha$,n) data libraries in ENDF-6 format in Geant4 and
prove that this tool can be used to calculate such neutron yields and energy spectra. First, we study the best set of parameters
to optimize the simulation process while preserving accuracy.
Then, we review the different databases available, showing the differences
and similarities between them, and we compare several Geant4 neutron production yields and spectra
with experimental data and other codes. Finally, we show the improvements associated with this approach for the estimation of the neutron yield in the case of DarkSide-20k. These improvements
are associated with the possibility of implementing more complex geometries and intrinsically calculating the effect of surface contamination for the yield in surrounding materials.
Primary author
Dr
Vicente Pesudo
(CIEMAT)
Co-author
Dr
Emilio Mendoza
(CIEMAT)
