Development of a $^{127}$Xe calibration source for nEXO
Creators: name: Lenardo, B. G.
name: Hardy, C. A.
name: Tsang, R. H. M.
name: Ondze, J. C. Nzobadila
name: Piepke, A.
name: Triambak, S.
name: Jamil, A.
name: Adhikari, G.
name: Kharusi, S. Al
name: Angelico, E.
name: Arnquist, I. J.
name: Belov, V.
name: Bernard, E. P.
name: Bhat, A.
name: Bhatta, T.
name: Bolotnikov, A.
name: Breur, P. A.
name: Brodsky, J. P.
name: Brown, E.
name: Brunner, T.
name: Caden, E.
name: Cao, G. F.
name: Cao, L.
name: Chana, B.
name: Charlebois, S. A.
name: Chernyak, D.
name: Chiu, M.
name: Cohen, J. R.
name: Collister, R.
name: Dalmasson, J.
name: Daniels, T.
name: Darroch, L.
name: DeVoe, R.
name: di Vacri, M. L.
name: Ding, Y. Y.
name: Dolinski, M. J.
name: Echevers, J.
name: Eckert, B.
name: Elbeltagi, M.
name: Fabris, L.
name: Fairbank, D.
name: Fairbank, W.
name: Farine, J.
name: Fu, Y. S.
name: Gallina, G.
name: Gautam, P.
name: Giacomini, G.
name: Gillis, W.
name: Gingras, C.
name: Gornea, R.
name: Gratta, G.
name: Harouaka, K.
name: Heffner, M.
name: Hein, E.
name: Hößl, J.
name: House, A.
name: Iverson, A.
name: Jiang, X. S.
name: Karelin, A.
name: Kaufman, L. J.
name: Krücken, R.
name: Kuchenkov, A.
name: Kumar, K. S.
name: Larson, A.
name: Leach, K. G.
name: Leonard, D. S.
name: Li, G.
name: Li, S.
name: Li, Z.
name: Licciardi, C.
name: Lindsay, R.
name: MacLellan, R.
name: Masbou, J.
name: McMichael, K.
name: Peregrina, M. Medina
name: Mong, B.
name: Moore, D. C.
name: Murray, K.
name: Nattress, J.
name: Natzke, C. R.
name: Ngwadla, X. E.
name: Ni, K.
name: Ning, Z.
name: Orrell, J. L.
name: Ortega, G. S.
name: Ostrovskiy, I.
name: Overman, C. T.
name: Perna, A.
name: Franco, T. Pinto
name: Pocar, A.
name: Pratte, J. F.
name: Priel, N.
name: Raguzin, E.
name: Ramonnye, G. J.
name: Rasiwala, H.
name: Raymond, K.
name: Richardson, G.
name: Richman, M.
name: Ringuette, J.
name: Rowson, P. C.
name: Saldanha, R.
name: Sangiorgio, S.
name: Shang, X.
name: Soma, A. K.
name: Spadoni, F.
name: Stekhanov, V.
name: Sun, X. L.
name: Thibado, S.
name: Tidball, A.
name: Todd, J.
name: Totev, T.
name: Tyuka, O. A.
name: Vachon, F.
name: Veeraraghavan, V.
name: Viel, S.
name: Wamba, K.
name: Wang, Y.
name: Wang, Q.
name: Wei, W.
name: Wen, L. J.
name: Wichoski, U.
name: Wilde, S.
name: Wu, W. H.
name: Yan, W.
name: Yang, L.
name: Zeldovich, O.
name: Zhao, J.
name: Ziegler, T.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study a possible calibration technique for the nEXO experiment using a $^{127}$Xe electron capture source. nEXO is a next-generation search for neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$) that will use a 5-tonne, monolithic liquid xenon time projection chamber (TPC). The xenon, used both as source and detection medium, will be enriched to 90% in $^{136}$Xe. To optimize the event reconstruction and energy resolution, calibrations are needed to map the position- and time-dependent detector response. The 36.3 day half-life of $^{127}$Xe and its small $Q$-value compared to that of $^{136}$Xe $0νββ$ would allow a small activity to be maintained continuously in the detector during normal operations without introducing additional backgrounds, thereby enabling in-situ calibration and monitoring of the detector response. In this work we describe a process for producing the source and preliminary experimental tests. We then use simulations to project the precision with which such a source could calibrate spatial corrections to the light and charge response of the nEXO TPC.
description: 24 pages, 16 figures