Determination of the Neutron Capture Cross Section of 134Xe at En=4.2 and 5.5 MeV

Abstract

Neutrinoless double beta decay experiments using 136Xe contain a signicant amount of 134Xe. Understanding backgrounds in double beta decay experiments is extremely important. The ultimate goal of this experiment is to determine the neutron capture cross section of 134Xe. This calculation will aid in correcting for neutron-induced background in measurements. After activating 134Xe in a neutron beam, rays from the resulting decay of 135Xe are measured over time. This decay allows us to determine how much 135Xe was produced, and calculate the neutron capture cross section of 134Xe. The immediate goals of data analysis were to calibrate detectors used, determine their eciency, and calculate neutron capture cross section of 134Xe. This work is supported by NSF PHY-1614348 and DE-FG02-97ER41033.