Low-radioactivity background techniques

Abstract

Interest is increasing in nonaccelerator physics with very low event rates, e.g. in experiments on solar neutrinos, double beta (ββ) decay, and dark matter search. The basic sources of background in the detection of ionizing radiation are discussed, with particular emphasis on the cosmic ray-induced component. Their reduction through shielding, material selection, underground operation, and various discrimination methods is elaborated and occasionally illustrated for the case of Ge spectrometry. The state-of-the-art techniques as they are applied in some advanced rare-event experiments are then reviewed.