# Indiana University

 dc.contributor.advisor Snow, Mike en dc.contributor.author Daugherty, Sean J. dc.date.accessioned 2018-06-20T16:08:02Z dc.date.available 2018-06-20T16:08:02Z dc.date.issued 2018-06 dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2022/22231 dc.description Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Department of Physics, 2018 en dc.description.abstract The search for neutrinoless double beta decay $(0v\beta\beta)$, a rare process which may reveal the Dirac/Majorana nature of the neutrino, requires a careful understanding of all backgrounds. A precise study of neutron interactions on $^{136}$Xe, a common isotope in double beta decay experiments, is necessary for the background models in experiments such as EXO-200 and, in the future, nEXO. Neutron capture and neutron inelastic scattering on $^{136}$Xe have been studied at the Detector for Advanced Capture Experiments (DANCE) and the GErmanium Array for Neutron Induced Excitations (GEANIE) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The relative neutron cross sections for neutron capture at thermal and first resonance energies have been measured. The gamma cascades for these captures have also been measured, and cascade models have been developed. Partial gamma ray cross sections of (n,xn$\gamma$) are being measured with data from GEANIE. These data will also be used to set limits on the number of events in the $0v\beta\beta$ ROI for $^{136}$Xe. These studies will lead to improved sensitivity to neutrinoless double beta decay in the future. en dc.language.iso en en dc.publisher [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University en dc.subject Nuclear Physics en dc.subject Neutrino Physics en dc.title Neutron Interactions on Xe-136 and Their Impact on Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Searches en dc.type Doctoral Dissertation en
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