Cosmogenic activation of materials

Cebrián, S. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: The production of radioactive isotopes in materials due to exposure to cosmic rays can become an hazard for experiments demanding ultra-low background conditions. Generation of long-lived products by cosmic nucleons at sea level has been studied for detector materials like germanium and tellurium and for other materials commonly used like copper; the main results will be summarized, considering both measurements and calculations. The isotope production cross sections and the cosmic ray spectrum are the two main ingredients when calculating this cosmogenic activation; the different alternatives for implementing them will be discussed. But cosmogenic activation can take place also deep underground due to cosmic muons, being relevant in this case the short-lived products. Studies carried out to evaluate the underground activation mainly for liquid scintillator materials will be commented too.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1063/1.4818094

Año: 2013

Publicado en: AIP Conference Proceedings 1549 (2013), 136-141
ISSN: 0094-243X

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear (Departamento de Física Teórica)