Abstract
This paper presents the effects of background reduction with anticoincidence logical condition between the sum of muon-sensitive large scintillator veto detectors and a germanium detector as well as the time evolution of rejected, muon-induced coincidence gamma spectra. A special attention is paid to neutron effects. The digital event-by-event registration used for data acquisition opens possibilities to study in an off-line mode the variety of effects related to the time structure of all signals registered by detectors. In our laboratory currently we use two such systems with in-house written software Veto for off-line data analysis.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig1_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig2_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig3_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig4_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig5_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig6_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig7_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig8_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig9_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig10_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig11_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig12_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10967-024-09412-x/MediaObjects/10967_2024_9412_Fig13_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
During the RANC-2023 Conference the invited talk entitled “The experience with five years exploitation of digital germanium gamma spectrometers with muon sensitive veto shields” was presented. The current paper is devoted only to one part of this talk, focused on analysis of gamma spectra from coincidences of gammas and muons, so it is about the cases, which are during normal operation rejected. The other parts of the conference talk were based on published already papers.
References
Haines DK, Semkow TM, Khan AJ, Hoffman TJ, Meyer ST, Beach SE (2011) Muon and neutron-induced background in gamma-ray spectrometry. Nucl Instrum Methods 652(1):326–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2011.01.137
Jovančević N, Krmar M, Mrda D, Slivka J, Bikit I (2010) Neutron induced background gamma activity in low-level Ge-spectroscopy systems. Nucl Instrum Meth A 612(2):303–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2009.10.059
Kudryavtsev VA, Spooner NJ, McMillan JE (2003) Simulations of muon-induced neutron flux at large depths underground. Nucl Instrum Meth A 505(3):688–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(03)00983-5
Hurtado S, García-León M, García-Tenorio R (2006) Optimized background reduction in low-level gamma-ray spectrometry at a surface laboratory. Appl Radiat Isot 64(9):1006–1012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2006.01.008
Baginova M, Vojtyla P, Povinec PP (2020) The neutron component of background of an HPGe detector operating in a surface laboratory. Appl Radiat Isot 166(109422):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109422
Heusser G (1993) Background in ionizing radiation detection illustrated by Ge-Spectrometry. In: Garcıa-Leon M, Garcia-Tenorio R (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Summer School, Low-Level Measurements of Radioactivity in the Environment, World Scientific, Singapore, Huelva, p 69
Trnkova L, Rulík P (2009) Low background shielding of HPGe detector. Appl Radiat Isot 67(5):723–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.01.079
Núñez-Lagos R, Virto A (1996) Shielding and background reduction. Appl Radiat Isot 47(9–10):1011–1021. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-8043(96)00100-5
Khan AJ, Li X, Haines DK, Hoffman TJ, Semkow TM (2021) Investigation of neutron shielding materials for low-background gamma spectrometry. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 328:941–950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07715-x
Haines DK, Semkow TM, Khan AJ, Hoffman TJ, Meyer ST, Beach SE (2011) Muon and neutron-induced background in gamma-ray spectrometry. Nucl Instrum Meth Phys Res Sect A Accel Spectrom Detect Assoc Equip 652(1):326–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2011.01.137
Mietelski JW, Hajduk Z, Hajduk L, Jurkowski J (2004) Some background effects observed with a low-level gamma-spectrometer with muon veto detector. In: Proceedings of the Aquatic Forum 2004: International conference on isotopes in environmental studies, Monte Carlo, Monaco, IAEA-CN-118/159
Gorzkiewicz K, Mietelski JW (2022) Coincidence spectra evolution with delay between gamma spectrometer and its veto shield, Poster No 61 on ICRM-LLRMT, Gran Sasso, 2022 https://agenda.infn.it/event/28111/timetable/?view=standard
Gorzkiewicz K, Mietelski JW, Kierepko R, Brudecki K (2019) Low-background, digital gamma-ray spectrometer with BEGe detector and active shield: commissioning, optimization and software development. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 322:1311–1321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06853-7
Chao JH (1993) Neutron-induced gamma rays in germanium detectors. Appl Radiat Isot 44:605–611. https://doi.org/10.1016/0969-8043(93)90177-C
Jovančević N, Krmar M (2011) Neutrons in the low-background Ge-detector vicinity estimated from different activation reactions. Appl Radiat Isot 69:629–635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2010.12.004
Laubenstein M, Hult M, Gasparro J, Arnold D, Neumaier S, Heusser G, Köhler M, Povinec P, Reyss JL, Schwaiger M, Theodórsson P (2004) Underground measurements of radioactivity. Appl Radiat Isot 61:167–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.03.0394.AalsethCE
Mietelski JW (2019) Detection of background thermal neutrons in a modifed low-background germanium gamma-ray spectrometer. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 322:1331–1339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06843-9
Gorzkiewicz K, Mietelski JW, Ustrnul Z, Homola P, Kierepko R, Nalichowska E, Brudecki K (2021) Investigations of muon flux variations detected using veto detectors of the digital gamma-rays spectrometer. Appl Sci 11(17):7916. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177916
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Dr. Jerome LaRosa (NIST) for revision of text.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Mietelski, J.W., Gorzkiewicz, K. Time evolution of rejected, coincidence spectra, registered on germanium gamma spectrometers with muon-sensitive veto shields. J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-024-09412-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-024-09412-x