Mainz 2014 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 65: Niederenergie-Neutrinophysik 3

T 65.6: Talk

Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 18:05–18:20, P106

A Scandium Calibration Source for the SNO+ Experiment — •Marc Reinhard, Valentina Lozza, and Kai Zuber — TU Dresden, Germany

The SNO+ experiment uses the same detector as SNO (Sudbury Neutrino Observatory). The target volume consists of 780 tonnes of liquid scintillator placed in an acrylic sphere of 12 m diameter, surrounded by about 9500 PMTs. Due to its location in a nickel mine 2 km underground (equivalent to 6 km water shielding) it is possible to measure low background physics processes. The main goal of the SNO+ experiment is the search for the neutrino-less double beta decay of Te-130. For this scope, the liquid scintillator will be loaded with 0.3 % natural tellurium.

To understand the detector response well enough, a calibration is necessary. The first calibration will be done in a water filled detector presumably in 2014 followed by calibrations in pure and tellurium loaded liquid scintillator. One of the sources used in the pure scintillator and tellurium phase will be Sc-48 which will be produced by a (n,p) reaction on natural titanium in Dresden-Rossendorf. With the half life of Sc-48 of only 43.67 h a tight schedule for production and shipping is required. For the calibration the 3 gamma rays with a sum energy of 3.333 MeV following the beta decay will be used. The design of the source is greatly affected by safety and cleanliness requirements when shipping and deploying the source. The current status of the source development will be presented.