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First Measurement of Neutrino Emissions from Spent Nuclear Fuel by the Double Chooz Experiment

Double Chooz Collaboration, T. Abrahão, H. Almazan, J. C. dos Anjos, S. Appel, J. C. Barriere, I. Bekman, T. J. C. Bezerra, L. Bezrukov, E. Blucher, C. Bourgeois, C. Buck, J. Busenitz, A. Cabrera, M. Cerrada, E. Chauveau, P. Chimenti, O. Corpace, J. V. Dawson, J. F. Du, Z. Djurcic, A. Etenko, H. Furuta, I. Gil-Botella, A. Givaudan, H. Gomez, M. C. Goodman, T. Hara, J. Haser, D. Hellwig, A. Hourlier, M. Ishitsuka, J. Jochum, C. Jollet, K. Kale, M. Kaneda, M. Karakac, T. Kawasaki, E. Kemp, D. Kryn, M. Kuze, T. Lachenmaier, C. E. Lane, T. Lasserre, D. Lhuillier, H. P. Lima, M. Lindner, J. M. LoSecco, B. Lubsandorzhiev, J. Maeda, C. Mariani, J. Maricic, J. Martino, T. Matsubara, G. Mention, A. Meregaglia, T. Miletic, R. Milincic, A. Minotti, X. Mougeot, D. Navas-Nicolás, Y. Nikitenko, P. Novella, L. Oberauer, M. Obolensky, A. Onillon, A. Oralbaev, C. Palomares, I. M. Pepe, L. Perisse, G. Pronost, J. Reichenbacher, S. Schönert, S. Schoppmann, L. Scola, R. Sharankova, V. Sibille, V. Sinev, M. Skorokhvatov, P. Soldin, A. Stahl, I. Stancu, M. R. Stock, L. F. F. Stokes, F. Suekane, S. Sukhotin, T. Sumiyoshi, C. Veyssiere, B. Viaud, M. Vivier, S. Wagner, C. Wiebusch, G. Yang, F. Yermia

Abstract

Neutrino emission from nuclear reactors provides real-time insights into reactor power and fuel evolution, with potential applications in monitoring and nuclear safeguards. Following reactor shutdown, a low-intensity flux of ``residual neutrinos'' persists due to the decay of long-lived fission isotopes in the partially burnt fuel remaining within the reactor cores and in spent nuclear fuel stored in nearby cooling pools. The Double Chooz experiment at the Chooz B nuclear power plant in France achieved the first quantitative measurement of this residual flux based on 17.2 days of reactor-off data. In the energy range where the residual signal is most pronounced, the neutrino detector located 400$\,$m from the cores recorded $106 \pm 18$ neutrino candidate events (5.9$σ$ significance). This measurement is in excellent agreement with the predicted value of $88 \pm 7$ events derived from detailed reactor simulations modeling the decay activities of fission products and incorporating the best-available models of neutrino spectra.

First Measurement of Neutrino Emissions from Spent Nuclear Fuel by the Double Chooz Experiment

Abstract

Neutrino emission from nuclear reactors provides real-time insights into reactor power and fuel evolution, with potential applications in monitoring and nuclear safeguards. Following reactor shutdown, a low-intensity flux of ``residual neutrinos'' persists due to the decay of long-lived fission isotopes in the partially burnt fuel remaining within the reactor cores and in spent nuclear fuel stored in nearby cooling pools. The Double Chooz experiment at the Chooz B nuclear power plant in France achieved the first quantitative measurement of this residual flux based on 17.2 days of reactor-off data. In the energy range where the residual signal is most pronounced, the neutrino detector located 400m from the cores recorded neutrino candidate events (5.9 significance). This measurement is in excellent agreement with the predicted value of events derived from detailed reactor simulations modeling the decay activities of fission products and incorporating the best-available models of neutrino spectra.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 1 equation, 5 figures, 1 table.

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: Schematic of the Double Chooz layout, showing the far and near detectors relative to reactor cores (B1, B2) and their spent fuel pools.
  • Figure 2: Thermal power history of reactor cores B1 and B2, with the four reactor-off periods in 2017 highlighted in blue.
  • Figure 3: Time evolution of the predicted IBD spectrum (top) and IBD MCSPF (bottom) for a UO$_2$ (4 wt% enrichment) spent fuel assembly irradiated to 45 GWd/t. Isotope contributions to the MCSPF are gray; dominant ones after one hour are colored.
  • Figure 4: Predicted IBD spectrum in the near detector for all off-off periods stacked and combined, showing contributions from two reactor cores, two spent fuel pools, and the total spectrum.
  • Figure 5: Measured residual $\bar{\nu}_{e}$ spectrum in the Double Chooz near detector (background subtracted), compared with the prediction, highlighting contributions from the dominant isotope contributors. In the 1--3 MeV range, $106 \pm 18$ events are observed, compared to a prediction of $88 \pm 7$ events.