We studied the temperature dependence of the light yield of the linear alkyl benzene (LAB)-based and mesitylene-based liquid scintillators. The light yield increases by 23% for both liquid scintillators when the temperature is lowered from 26∘C to −40∘C, correcting for the temperature response of the photomultiplier tube. The measurements help to understand the energy response of the liquid scintillator detectors. Especially, the next generation reactor neutrino experiments for neutrino mass hierarchy, such as the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), require very high energy resolution. As no apparent degradation on the liquid scintillator transparency was observed, lowering the operation temperature of the detector to ∼4∘C will increase the photoelectron yield of the detector by 13%, combining the light yield increase of the liquid scintillator and the quantum efficiency increase of the photomultiplier tubes.
@article{arxiv.1402.6871,
title = {Temperature dependence of the light yield of the LAB-based and mesitylene-based liquid scintillators},
author = {Xia DongMei and Yu BoXiang and Li XiaoBo and Sun XiLei and Ding YaYun and Zhou Li and Cao Jun and Hu Wei and Ye XingCheng and Chen HaiTao and Ding XueFeng and Du Bing},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.6871},
year = {2014}
}