https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-12278-0
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Characterization of the scintillation response of water-based liquid scintillator to alpha particles, and implications for particle identification
1
University of California, 94720-7300, Berkeley, CA, USA
2
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 94720-8153, Berkeley, CA, USA
3
Brookhaven National Laboratory, 11973-500, Upton, NY, USA
Received:
26
July
2023
Accepted:
21
November
2023
Published online:
30
November
2023
Next-generation large-scale neutrino detectors, from Eos, at the 1 t scale, to Theia, at the 10 s-of-kt scale, will utilize differences in both the scintillation and Cherenkov light emission for different particle species to perform background rejection. This manuscript presents measurements of the scintillation light yield and emission time profile of water-based liquid scintillator samples in response to 
radiation. These measurements are used as input to simulation models used to make predictions for future detectors. In particular, we present the timing-based particle identification achievable in generic water-based scintillator detectors at the 4 t, 1 kt, and 100 kt scales. We find that /
discrimination improves with increasing scintillation concentration and we identify better than 80% rejection for 90% acceptance in 10% water-based liquid scintillator, at the 4 t scale.
© The Author(s) 2023
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Funded by SCOAP3. SCOAP3 supports the goals of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development.
