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This Letter reports one of the most precise measurements to date of the antineutrino spectrum from a purely ^{235}U-fueled reactor, made with the final dataset from the PROSPECT-I detector at the High Flux Isotope Reactor. By extracting information from previously unused detector segments, this analysis effectively doubles the statistics of the previous PROSPECT measurement. The reconstructed energy spectrum is unfolded into antineutrino energy and compared with both the Huber-Mueller model and a spectrum from a commercial reactor burning multiple fuel isotopes. A local excess over the model is observed in the 5-7 MeV energy region. Comparison of the PROSPECT results with those from commercial reactors provides new constraints on the origin of this excess, disfavoring at 2.0 and 3.7 standard deviations the hypotheses that antineutrinos from ^{235}U are solely responsible and noncontributors to the excess observed at commercial reactors, respectively.
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A joint determination of the reactor antineutrino spectra resulting from the fission of ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu has been carried out by the Daya Bay and PROSPECT Collaborations. This Letter reports the level of consistency of ^{235}U spectrum measurements from the two experiments and presents new results from a joint analysis of both data sets. The measurements are found to be consistent. The combined analysis reduces the degeneracy between the dominant ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu isotopes and improves the uncertainty of the ^{235}U spectral shape to about 3%. The ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu antineutrino energy spectra are unfolded from the jointly deconvolved reactor spectra using the Wiener-SVD unfolding method, providing a data-based reference for other reactor antineutrino experiments and other applications. This is the first measurement of the ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu spectra based on the combination of experiments at low- and highly enriched uranium reactors.
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The PROSPECT and STEREO collaborations present a combined measurement of the pure ^{235}U antineutrino spectrum, without site specific corrections or detector-dependent effects. The spectral measurements of the two highest precision experiments at research reactors are found to be compatible with χ^{2}/ndf=24.1/21, allowing a joint unfolding of the prompt energy measurements into antineutrino energy. This ν[over ¯]_{e} energy spectrum is provided to the community, and an excess of events relative to the Huber model is found in the 5-6 MeV region. When a Gaussian bump is fitted to the excess, the data-model χ^{2} value is improved, corresponding to a 2.4σ significance.
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Reactor neutrino experiments have seen major improvements in precision in recent years. With the experimental uncertainties becoming lower than those from theory, carefully considering all sources of ν ¯ e is important when making theoretical predictions. One source of ν ¯ e that is often neglected arises from the irradiation of the nonfuel materials in reactors. The ν ¯ e rates and energies from these sources vary widely based on the reactor type, configuration, and sampling stage during the reactor cycle and have to be carefully considered for each experiment independently. In this article, we present a formalism for selecting the possible ν ¯ e sources arising from the neutron captures on reactor and target materials. We apply this formalism to the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the ν ¯ e source for the the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Measurement (PROSPECT) experiment. Overall, we observe that the nonfuel ν ¯ e contributions from HFIR to PROSPECT amount to 1% above the inverse beta decay threshold with a maximum contribution of 9% in the 1.8-2.0 MeV range. Nonfuel contributions can be particularly high for research reactors like HFIR because of the choice of structural and reflector material in addition to the intentional irradiation of target material for isotope production. We show that typical commercial pressurized water reactors fueled with low-enriched uranium will have significantly smaller nonfuel ν ¯ e contribution.
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We report on a comparison between the theoretically predicted and experimentally measured spectra of the first-forbidden nonunique ß-decay transition ^{137}Xe(7/2^{-})â^{137}Cs(7/2^{+}). The experimental data were acquired by the EXO-200 experiment during a deployment of an AmBe neutron source. The ultralow background environment of EXO-200, together with dedicated source deployment and analysis procedures, allowed for collection of a pure sample of the decays, with an estimated signal to background ratio of more than 99 to 1 in the energy range from 1075 to 4175 keV. In addition to providing a rare and accurate measurement of the first-forbidden nonunique ß-decay shape, this work constitutes a novel test of the calculated electron spectral shapes in the context of the reactor antineutrino anomaly and spectral bump.
RESUMEN
A search for neutrinoless double-ß decay (0νßß) in ^{136}Xe is performed with the full EXO-200 dataset using a deep neural network to discriminate between 0νßß and background events. Relative to previous analyses, the signal detection efficiency has been raised from 80.8% to 96.4±3.0%, and the energy resolution of the detector at the Q value of ^{136}Xe 0νßß has been improved from σ/E=1.23% to 1.15±0.02% with the upgraded detector. Accounting for the new data, the median 90% confidence level 0νßß half-life sensitivity for this analysis is 5.0×10^{25} yr with a total ^{136}Xe exposure of 234.1 kg yr. No statistically significant evidence for 0νßß is observed, leading to a lower limit on the 0νßß half-life of 3.5×10^{25} yr at the 90% confidence level.
RESUMEN
This Letter reports the first measurement of the ^{235}U ν[over ¯]_{e} energy spectrum by PROSPECT, the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum experiment, operating 7.9 m from the 85 MW_{th} highly enriched uranium (HEU) High Flux Isotope Reactor. With a surface-based, segmented detector, PROSPECT has observed 31678±304(stat) ν[over ¯]_{e}-induced inverse beta decays, the largest sample from HEU fission to date, 99% of which are attributed to ^{235}U. Despite broad agreement, comparison of the Huber ^{235}U model to the measured spectrum produces a χ^{2}/ndf=51.4/31, driven primarily by deviations in two localized energy regions. The measured ^{235}U spectrum shape is consistent with a deviation relative to prediction equal in size to that observed at low-enriched uranium power reactors in the ν[over ¯]_{e} energy region of 5-7 MeV.
RESUMEN
Results from a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νßß) of ^{136}Xe are presented using the first year of data taken with the upgraded EXO-200 detector. Relative to previous searches by EXO-200, the energy resolution of the detector has been improved to σ/E=1.23%, the electric field in the drift region has been raised by 50%, and a system to suppress radon in the volume between the cryostat and lead shielding has been implemented. In addition, analysis techniques that improve topological discrimination between 0νßß and background events have been developed. Incorporating these hardware and analysis improvements, the median 90% confidence level 0νßß half-life sensitivity after combining with the full data set acquired before the upgrade has increased twofold to 3.7×10^{25} yr. No statistically significant evidence for 0νßß is observed, leading to a lower limit on the 0νßß half-life of 1.8×10^{25} yr at the 90% confidence level.
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This Letter reports the first scientific results from the observation of antineutrinos emitted by fission products of ^{235}U at the High Flux Isotope Reactor. PROSPECT, the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment, consists of a segmented 4 ton ^{6}Li-doped liquid scintillator detector covering a baseline range of 7-9 m from the reactor and operating under less than 1 m water equivalent overburden. Data collected during 33 live days of reactor operation at a nominal power of 85 MW yield a detection of 25 461±283 (stat) inverse beta decays. Observation of reactor antineutrinos can be achieved in PROSPECT at 5σ statistical significance within 2 h of on-surface reactor-on data taking. A reactor model independent analysis of the inverse beta decay prompt energy spectrum as a function of baseline constrains significant portions of the previously allowed sterile neutrino oscillation parameter space at 95% confidence level and disfavors the best fit of the reactor antineutrino anomaly at 2.2σ confidence level.
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We describe a system to transport and identify barium ions produced in liquid xenon, as part of R&D towards the second phase of a double beta decay experiment, nEXO. The goal is to identify the Ba ion resulting from an extremely rare nuclear decay of the isotope (136)Xe, hence providing a confirmation of the occurrence of the decay. This is achieved through Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (RIS). In the test setup described here, Ba ions can be produced in liquid xenon or vacuum and collected on a clean substrate. This substrate is then removed to an analysis chamber under vacuum, where laser-induced thermal desorption and RIS are used with time-of-flight mass spectroscopy for positive identification of the barium decay product.
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We report on a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 136Xe with EXO-200. No signal is observed for an exposure of 32.5 kg yr, with a background of â¼1.5×10(-3) kg(-1) yr(-1) keV(-1) in the ±1σ region of interest. This sets a lower limit on the half-life of the neutrinoless double-beta decay T(1/2)(0νßß)(136Xe)>1.6×10(25) yr (90% C.L.), corresponding to effective Majorana masses of less than 140-380 meV, depending on the matrix element calculation.
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We report the observation of two-neutrino double-beta decay in (136)Xe with T(1/2) = 2.11 ± 0.04(stat) ± 0.21(syst) × 10(21) yr. This second-order process, predicted by the standard model, has been observed for several nuclei but not for (136)Xe. The observed decay rate provides new input to matrix element calculations and to the search for the more interesting neutrinoless double-beta decay, the most sensitive probe for the existence of Majorana particles and the measurement of the neutrino mass scale.
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A magnetically driven piston pump for xenon gas recirculation is presented. The pump is designed to satisfy extreme purity and containment requirements, as is appropriate for the recirculation of isotopically enriched xenon through the purification system and large liquid xenon time projection chamber of EXO-200. The pump, using sprung polymer gaskets, is capable of pumping more than 16 standard liters per minute of xenon gas with 750 Torr differential pressure.
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We describe a source capable of producing single barium ions through nuclear recoils in radioactive decay. The source is fabricated by electroplating (148)Gd onto a silicon α-particle detector and vapor depositing a layer of BaF(2) over it. (144)Sm recoils from the alpha decay of (148)Gd are used to dislodge Ba(+) ions from the BaF(2) layer and emit them in the surrounding environment. The simultaneous detection of an α particle in the substrate detector allows for tagging of the nuclear decay and of the Ba(+) emission. The source is simple, durable, and can be manipulated and used in different environments. We discuss the fabrication process, which can be easily adapted to emit most other chemical species, and the performance of the source.
