Related papers: Large-scale Gadolinium-doped Water Cerenkov Detect…
Water-based liquid scintillators (WbLS) are attractive neutrino detector materials because they allow us to tune the ratio of the Cherenkov and scintillation signals. Using WbLS large-scale neutrino experiments can benefit from both…
We show that dark matter with a per-nucleon scattering cross section $\gtrsim 10^{-28}~{\rm cm^2}$ could be discovered by liquid scintillator neutrino detectors like BOREXINO, SNO+, and JUNO. Due to the large dark matter fluxes admitted,…
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) is a dominant low-energy neutrino interaction that remains experimentally challenging due to its weak-scale cross section and the small nuclear recoil energies involved. This thesis…
The smuggling of special nuclear materials (SNM) through international borders could enable nuclear terrorism and constitutes a significant threat to global security. This paper presents the experimental demonstration of a novel…
In the work presented here we built and evaluated a single-channel neutron detection unit consisting of a ZnS:$^6$LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers readout by a SiPM. The unit has a sensitive volume of 2.4 x 2.8 x 50 mm$^3$; 12 WLS…
The Helium-3 shortage and the growing interest in neutron science constitute a driving factor in developing new neutron detection technologies. In this work, we report the development of a double-GEM detector prototype that uses a…
In this paper we describe the development and first tests of a neutron spectrometer designed for high flux environments, such as the ones found in fast nuclear reactors. The spectrometer is based on the conversion of neutrons impinging on…
Measuring slow neutrons is difficult when the radiation field also contains charged particles and fast neutrons, especially when the radiation composition is not known in advance. In this work, we present a tested method to measure slow…
We perform an extensive investigation of the sensitivity to non-vanishing tau-neutrino mass in a large water Cherenkov detector, developing an analysis method for neutrino events originated by a supernova explosion. This approach, based on…
Telescopes, designed with semi-conductor based photo sensors, have the potential to detect Cherenkov or fluorescence light emitted by cosmic-rays in the atmosphere. Such telescopes promise a high duty cycle and efficiency in remote harsh…
Traditional thermal neutron detectors are based on Helium-3 as conversion and detection material due to its large neutron cross-section. In light of the upgrade and construction of several neutron scattering facilities such as the European…
Coherent scattering is a flavor-blind, high-rate, as yet undetected neutrino interaction predicted by the Standard Model. We propose to use a compact (kg-scale), two-phase (liquid-gas) argon ionization detector to measure coherent neutrino…
For over 40 years, physicists have considered possible uses for neutrino detectors in nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, and fissile materials security. Neutrinos are an attractive fission signature because they readily pass through…
We demonstrate a compact, non-toxic, low-cost neutron-yield diagnostic for pulsed D--T fusion systems using an undoped fused-silica (SiO$2$) rod as both activation target and Cherenkov radiator. D--T neutrons (14.1 MeV) activate $^{28}$Si…
In this article we describe a novel method for the detection of explosives and other hazardous substances in the marine environment using neutron activation. Unlike the other considered methods based on this technique we propose to use…
The precise and efficient identification of the nature of the primary cosmic rays on an event-by-event basis stands as a fundamental aspiration for any cosmic ray observatory. In particular, the detection and characterization of gamma ray…
Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are the first verified sites of rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis, and could emit gamma rays from the radioactive isotopes synthesized in the neutron-rich ejecta. These MeV gamma rays may provide…
We present a detailed characterization of the thermal neutron sensitive transparent glass scintillator SG101, benchmarked against the conventional LiF ZnS(Ag)based scintillator EJ426. The detection efficiency, energy resolution, and pulse…
NEUCAL is a neutron detector which is currently under study to be used as a sub-detector complementing electromagnetic (e.m.) calorimeters for electron/hadron discrimination in cosmic rays at high energy. Its aim is to reveal the different…
The detection and cross-section measurement of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE{\nu}NS) are vital for particle physics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics. Therefore, a new CE{\nu}NS detection experiment is proposed in China.…