Water-based Liquid Scintillator detector as a new technology testbed for neutrino studies in Turkey

Abstract

This study investigates the deployment of a medium-scale neutrino detector near Turkey's first nuclear power plant, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. The aim of this detector is to become a modular testbed for new technologies in the fields of new detection media and innovative photosensors. Such technologies include Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS), Large Area Picosecond Photo-Detectors (LAPPDs), dichroic Winston cones, and large area silicon photomultiplier modules. The detector could be used for instantaneous monitoring of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant via its antineutrino flux. In addition to its physics and technological goals, it would be an invaluable opportunity for the nuclear and particle physics community in Turkey to play a role in the development of next generation of particle detectors in the field of neutrino physics.

Low Energy Neutrino Detection with a Portable Water-based Liquid Scintillator Detector

“…-Aiming to become a test-bed for experiments around the globe interested in testing and deploying new detector technologies. -Act as a near detector to the 30-ton detector mentioned in [33]. Operating both detectors would provide additional measurements of reactor-based neutrino oscillations at medium baseline (>1 km) and short (≤100 m) baseline.…”

“…But in a broader perspective, we propose to develop a program for low-energy neutrino studies in Turkey, which includes both a small size detector at a short-distance to the reactor, as mentioned here, and a medium size detector located 1-2 km from the reactor core. The medium size detector, previously proposed by our coauthors, V. Fischer and E. Tiras, includes a 30-ton cylindrical tank filled with 0.1% Gadolinium doped Waterbased Liquid Scintillator (WbLS) and aims to be placed a few km away from the reactor cores [33]. The Reactor Neutrino Experiments of Turkey (RNET) program will consist of both a small size detector (2-3 ton) placed very close to one of the reactor cores (about 50 m) and a far detector about 1-2 km from the power plant for low-energy neutrino oscillation and nuclear non-proliferation studies using new techniques and pioneering technologies.…”

Investigation of Radiation Protection Parameters of Some Control Rod Types that Can Be Used in Akkuyu Nuclear Reactors

“…Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is a VVR1200 type power plant and is a 3rd generation power plant (Fischer and Tiras, 2020). Within the scope of this study, the radiation absorption properties of possible control rod materials that can be used in this power plant were investigated with the Phy-X software (Şakar et al, 2020).…”

NuSD: A Geant4 based simulation framework for segmented anti-neutrino detectors

“…As such, while several projects plan on detecting low energy neutrinos through IBD using monolithic water-based detectors [3,4,5,6] thus allowing the reconstruction of Cherenkov patterns, segmented liquid scintillator based detectors offer a decisive advantage in terms of background reduction and detection efficiency.…”