A1 Journal article (refereed)
Optimization of the JUNO liquid scintillator composition using a Daya Bay antineutrino detector (2021)

Daya Bay collaboration, JUNO collaboration. (2021). Optimization of the JUNO liquid scintillator composition using a Daya Bay antineutrino detector. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment, 988, Article 164823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164823

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Daya Bay collaboration; JUNO collaboration

Journal or series: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment

ISSN: 0168-9002

eISSN: 1872-9576

Publication year: 2021

Volume: 988

Article number: 164823

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication country: Netherlands

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164823

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/73915

Web address of parallel published publication (pre-print): https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.00314

Abstract

To maximize the light yield of the liquid scintillator (LS) for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 t LS sample was produced in a pilot plant at Daya Bay. The optical properties of the new LS in various compositions were studied by replacing the gadolinium-loaded LS in one antineutrino detector. The concentrations of the fluor, PPO, and the wavelength shifter, bis-MSB, were increased in 12 steps from 0.5 g/L and 0.01 mg/L to 4 g/L and 13 mg/L, respectively. The numbers of total detected photoelectrons suggest that, with the optically purified solvent, the bis-MSB concentration does not need to be more than 4 mg/L. To bridge the one order of magnitude in the detector size difference between Daya Bay and JUNO, the Daya Bay data were used to tune the parameters of a newly developed optical model. Then, the model and tuned parameters were used in the JUNO simulation. This enabled to determine the optimal composition for the JUNO LS: purified solvent LAB with 2.5 g/L PPO, and 1 to 4 mg/L bis-MSB.

Keywords: particle physics; neutrinos; antimatter; research equipment; detectors

Free keywords: neutrino; liquid scintillator; light yield

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2021

JUFO rating: 1