Neutron Background Monitoring

Our neutron flux is measured, using the Multiplicity and Recoil Spectrometer (MARS) developed by Sandia National Laboratories. This portable neutron detector contains layers of EJ200 plastic scintillator and Gd-coated Mylar, and has 16 PMTs looking for any light. In this detector, an incoming neutron has a two-step process: it will cause protons to recoil within a scintillating layer and slow down, and it will then get captured on a Gd nucleus in a paint layer.

I help manage a Geant4 simulation of this detector, and use it to predict the spectrum we measure in response to calibration sources. I also am leading the analyses of data collected from January 2019 - May 2021 and the current data-taking period.