Calibration Hardware Research and Development for SNO+

Abstract

The SNO+ experiment is a kilo-tonne scale liquid scintillator detector located at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. As the successor to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, SNO+ will use linear alkylbenzene (LAB) as the scintillator to study neutrinos. During the solar phase, ux measurements will be made of low energy neutrinos originating in the Sun. In another phase, 800 kg of tellurium will loaded into the scintillator to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Measurements will also be made of neutrinos coming from nearby nuclear reactors and from inside Earth's mantle and crust. To enable these multiple physics goals, a sensitive calibration procedure must be carried out in order to fully understand the detector. The optical and energy responses of the detector will be measured with calibration sources deployed throughout the acrylic vessel. These sources must be connected to the observatory deck above the vessel by gas capillaries, optical bres, and signal wires housed in specially designed submersible umbilical cables. The design and fabrication of these umbilical cables is presented. Development work on a deployed radon calibration source will also be described.