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Paul Scovell (STFC)21/09/2026, 10:00Presentation
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Sean Paling (STFC)21/09/2026, 10:20Presentation
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Beth Green (Boulby Underground Laboratory)21/09/2026, 10:50Presentation
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Wenhan Dai (Tsinghua University)21/09/2026, 11:20
China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) is one of the deepest (2400 rock overburden) and largest (>300,000 m$^3$) underground laboratory worldwide. This talk will introduce the latest statues of CJPL with focus on the low background facilities: the large liquid nitrogen shielding, large pure water shielding, combined shielding facilities and the ARGUS multi-detector $\gamma$-spectrometers....
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Florian Jörg (Universität Zürich)21/09/2026, 11:40
The search for rare physical processes relies on ultra-low-background environments, making deep underground laboratories indispensable. The Bedretto tunnel, situated within the Gotthard massif in Switzerland, is a strong candidate for a future low-background facility, offering an overburden of up to 4000 meters water equivalent. The site is already home to the Bedretto Geology Laboratory run...
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Abobakr Emara (University of Windsor)21/09/2026, 13:10
Radon emanation remains a dominant background in rare-event search experiments such as neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter detection, motivating the development of high-sensitivity assay systems for material screening and detector validation. As a noble gas, radon can outgas of detector materials and circulate within experimental volumes, making it particularly challenging to...
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Mayank Tripathi (University of Chicago)21/09/2026, 13:30
The PICO Collaboration operates bubble chambers to search for WIMP dark matter, leveraging the excellent gamma rejection and long live fractions enabled by operating at a lower degree of superheat than the bubble chambers of the 1960s. Located at the SNOLAB underground laboratory, these detectors use fluorinated target fluids optimized for probing spin-dependent WIMP-proton interactions while...
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Sophie Armbruster21/09/2026, 13:50
Despite overwhelming evidence for dark matter in our universe, its true nature remains a mystery. In the search for dark matter, detectors using liquid xenon are currently leading in sensitivity. However, these experiments are increasingly limited by intrinsic detector backgrounds, particularly the emanation of radon from detector materials. To address this challenge, a novel radon mitigation...
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Marie-Cécile Piro (University of Alberta)21/09/2026, 14:10
We present the performance of an efficient radon trap using silver-zeolite Ag-ETS-10, measured with a spherical proportional counter filled with an argon/methane mixture. Our study compares the radon reduction capabilities of silver-zeolite and the widely used activated charcoal, both at room temperature. We demonstrate that silver-zeolite significantly outperforms activated charcoal by three...
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Celin Hidalgo (Gran Sasso Science Institute)21/09/2026, 15:00
Liquid argon is an excellent target for direct dark matter detection thanks to its scintillation and ionization responses combined with strong pulse-shape discrimination (PSD). The DarkSide-20k experiment, now under construction in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), Italy, will use a liquid argon dual-phase time projection chamber aiming at a background-free search for Weakly...
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Ewan Fraser (University of Liverpool)21/09/2026, 15:20
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment employs a 7-tonne liquid xenon time projection chamber operating 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. LZ has achieved world-leading sensitivity to WIMP dark matter above 5 GeV/c² and reported the first >3σ evidence of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering from ⁸B solar neutrinos. The natural 8.9%...
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Yue Meng (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)21/09/2026, 15:40
PandaX-20T is a next-generation liquid xenon detector for rare-event searches, with stringent requirements on radiopurity and background control. We present the ongoing low-background effort for PandaX-20T, including material screening, development of new low-background materials and detector components, krypton assay, radon-related surface contamination control, and detector background...
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Chris Jillings21/09/2026, 16:00
DEAP‑3600, with its 3.3‑tonne target and located at SNOLAB, currently represents the leading effort within the international community in the dark‑matter direct detection in liquid argon, while construction of the next‑generation experiment, DarkSide‑20k, is underway at LNGS in Italy. By analyzing approximately three years of data, DEAP‑3600 has recently released its most up-to-date exclusion...
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Christoph Vogl (TU-Munich)21/09/2026, 16:20
The LEGEND experiment aims to detect neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) of Ge-76 using high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors immersed in liquid argon (LAr). The LAr serves both as a coolant and as an active shield against background radiation. In the current phase (LEGEND-200), HPGe detectors are operated in conventional atmospheric LAr, which contains the cosmogenically activated...
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Alice Leoncini (Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, I-00133, Rome, 8 Italy.)21/09/2026, 16:40
New measurements of the rare α decays of natural Hf isotopes have been performed using four Cs$_2$HfCl$_6$ crystal scintillators operated in the low-background setup of DAMA/CRYS at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of INFN, Italy. The “source = detector” approach provides high sensitivity to ultra-long-lived processes by embedding the decaying nuclei directly within the detector...
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Giovanni Benato (Gran Sasso Science Institute), Dr Miryam Martinez-Vara (Gran Sasso Science Institute)21/09/2026, 17:00
The goal of the SURF$\alpha$CE (Silicon Underground Radiopure Finder of $\alpha$ Contamination Excesses) $\alpha$ spectrometer is to demonstrate the possibility to measure the surface radioactive contamination of the $^{232}$Th and $^{238}$U decay chains with an unprecedented sensitivity of 1 nBq/cm$^2$, a value demanded by several next-generation experiments for rare event searches. The...
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Davide D'Angelo (Università degli Studi di Milano & INFN)21/09/2026, 17:20
The SABRE-North experiment aims to search for dark matter via the annual modulation signature, deploying an array of ultra-low-background NaI(Tl) crystals at Gran Sasso National Laboratory.
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The array will be composed of nine detectors (5 kg mass each) in a Cu and PE passive shielding. The expected background rate in the energy window of interest [1,6] keV is of the order of 0.5 dru.
This... -
Shawn Westerdale (University Of California Riverside)22/09/2026, 09:00Presentation
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Sara Tullio (INFN Cagliari)22/09/2026, 09:30
DarkSide-20k, the next-generation dual-phase liquid argon TPC under construction at LNGS, aims to significantly advance the search for WIMP dark matter. A key requirement for reaching its sensitivity goals is the use of underground argon, strongly depleted in cosmogenic $^{39}$Ar with respect to atmospheric argon, whose natural activity would otherwise represent a major background at the...
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Ziqing Hong (University of Toronto)22/09/2026, 09:50Experiments Background, Models and SimulationsPresentation
SuperCDMS SNOLAB is a cryogenic experiment projected to achieve world-leading sensitivity for dark matter masses below 10 GeV using semiconductor crystal detectors. The experiment employs two detector types - iZIP detectors with combined phonon and charge readout, providing excellent nuclear recoil/electron recoil discrimination, and HV detectors, which amplify phonon energy proportional to an...
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Ruben Saakyan (UCL)22/09/2026, 10:40Presentation
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Benjamin Schmidt (CEA, IRFU/DPHP), Speakersboard22/09/2026, 11:10Experiments Background, Models and SimulationsPresentation
Next generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiments aim to search for lepton number violation and the origin of neutrino mass through ton-scale experiments with ever more demanding background targets. In order to cover neutrino masses in the inverted hierarchy region, half-life sensitivities equal to or greater than 10$^{27}$ years are required. The CUPID experiment is one of the...
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Elena Ferri (INFN Sezione Milano Bicocca)22/09/2026, 11:30Experiments Background, Models and SimulationsPresentation
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first bolometric experiment searching for 0νββ decay that has successfully reached the one-tonne mass scale. It is the most sensitive probe searching for lepton number violation and the Majorana nature and mass scale of neutrinos in the isotope $^{130}$Te. The detector, located at the LNGS in Italy, consists of an array of...
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Gulliver Milton (University of Oxford)22/09/2026, 11:50Presentation
The SNO+ collaboration has developed a likelihood-based method to identify and tag previously inaccessible backgrounds arising from the $^{238}\mathrm{U}$ and $^{232}\mathrm{Th}$ decay chains. The method combines the time and spatial separations between candidate events with energy PDFs to evaluate correlations within radioactive decay sequences. In contrast to the sub-millisecond half-lives...
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Yingjie Chu (GSSI)22/09/2026, 12:20Experiments Background, Models and SimulationsPresentation
A precise measurement of neutrons is crucial for underground experiments searching for rare events. The neutron component is often poorly known due to the lack of a scalable detector technology for the measurement of low-flux neutron spectra in a short time. Thanks to their high gadolinium content, we have demonstrated the possibility of using scintillating cerium-doped...
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Roberto Santorelli (CIEMAT)22/09/2026, 13:55Presentation
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Wang Yi (IHEP)22/09/2026, 14:25
Low background detectors, such as those used in direct dark matter searches, require high-efficient neutron veto to reject nuclear recoil backgrounds. Gadolinium-doped polymethyl methacrylate (Gd-PMMA) has emerged as a promising solid neutron tagging material, with high hydrogen content for moderating neutrons and gadolinium content for capturing thermal neutrons and exploiting subsequent...
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Milena Czubak (Jagiellonian University)22/09/2026, 15:15
Advancing the detection limits in experiments searching for rare nuclear processes, such as direct dark matter interactions and neutrinoless double beta decay, requires material selection with extremely low radioisotope content. Low-background, large-surface alpha spectrometry is one of the techniques used to measure low surface and bulk specific activities of alpha emitters. One of the most...
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Ferdos Dastgiri (University College London)22/09/2026, 15:35
Xenon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) based experiments have long been among the most sensitive and successful approaches to direct dark matter detection. However, the present generation of detectors is approaching its sensitivity limits, thus, a larger detector of 60-80 tonne active liquid xenon target is envisioned as part of the XLZD collaboration. This detector is building upon the expertise...
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Ian Lawson (SNOLAB)22/09/2026, 15:55
The Low Background Group at SNOLAB supports rare-event physics experiments through ultra-low background measurements and material assays in one of the deepest underground laboratories in the world. The group provides capabilities in high-purity germanium gamma-ray spectroscopy, ICP-MS, alpha screening, radon measurements, and neutron measurements to support experiments in dark matter, ...
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Sofia Calgaro (Universität Zürich)22/09/2026, 16:15
The search for neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay with $^{76}$Ge detectors tests whether neutrinos are Majorana particles and requires ultra-low background conditions, making background identification and mitigation crucial for next-generation experiments.
The LEGEND (Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ Decay) collaboration aims to improve the...
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Mr Lorenzo Ascenzo (University of L'Aquila)22/09/2026, 16:35
Several next-generation experiments for rare events require a further reduction of the $^{238}$U and $^{232}$Th contamination on material surfaces with respect to what is achievable with current technologies. Such a reduction can be achieved by improved cleaning techniques or surface coating, both of which can be optimized using sources with a well-known surface contamination and/or $^{222}$Rn...
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Alex Biondi (Jagiellonian University in Kraków)22/09/2026, 16:55
Suppressing α background in HPGe detectors for next-generation 0νββ searches
A. Biondi$^1$, G. Zuzel$^1$
1) M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
High-purity germanium detectors enriched in $^{76}\mathrm{Ge}$ are among the most sensitive technologies for neutrinoless double beta decay searches, thanks to their excellent energy resolution,...
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Dr Alice Hamer (STFC)22/09/2026, 19:00
The Boulby Underground Screening (BUGS) Facility employs a number of techniques for material characterisation. One of these is the study of radon emanation from materials. Future large scale low background detectors will have unprecedented requirements to reduce the amount of radon emanated from materials. This poster will introduce the facility and discuss the techniques used to maximise...
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Jonathan Gutteridge (STFC)22/09/2026, 19:01Poster
A presentation on Boulby Underground Laboratory's public engagement programme, its alignment with STFC's missions, and a touch on evaluation and local impact.
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Wenhan Dai (Tsinghua University)22/09/2026, 19:02Poster
China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) is one of the deepest (2400 rock overburden) and largest (>300,000 m$^3$) underground laboratory worldwide. This talk will introduce the latest statues of CJPL with focus on the low background facilities: the large liquid nitrogen shielding, large pure water shielding, combined shielding facilities and the ARGUS multi-detector $\gamma$-spectrometers....
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Moritz Neuberger (Technical University of Munich (TUM))22/09/2026, 19:03Poster
The LEGEND collaboration aims to achieve an unambiguous discovery of neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) using high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors enriched in $^{76}$Ge (Q$_{ββ}$ = 2039 keV). These detectors are operated in liquid argon, which serves as both a coolant and an active shield, enabling a quasi-background-free search for 0νββ. The first phase, LEGEND-200, uses up to 200 kg of...
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Valentina Novati (CNRS-LPSC)22/09/2026, 19:04Poster
The Ricochet experiment measures coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) of reactor antineutrinos at the ILL (Grenoble, France), using germanium cryogenic calorimeters with neutron transmutation doped germanium thermistors. Dual phonon-ionization readout enables nuclear-recoil identification and efficient electron-recoil rejection. Since commissioning in 2024, Ricochet has scaled...
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Brianna Mount (Black Hills State University)22/09/2026, 19:05
Low-Background Counting capabilities at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) are consolidated at the Black Hills Underground Campus (BHUC). Located in SURF’s Ross Campus, the BHUC is a class 1,000 cleanroom, which houses four single crystal High Purity Germanium (HPGe) counting systems and two dual HPGe crystal counting systems. While located at SURF, the BHUC counters are...
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Patrick Knights (University of Birmingham)22/09/2026, 19:06Poster
Rare-event search experiments require construction materials with high radiopurity to minimise background contributions. Thanks to its high mechanical strength, low density, machinability, and commercial availability in relatively radio-pure forms, titanium is a suitable material for structural elements in rare-event searches. To remove potential surface deposits, a chemical etching stage is...
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John Armstrong (Savannah River National Laboratory)22/09/2026, 19:07Poster
Shallow underground laboratories (less than 100 meters underground) are more accessible and well suited for a wide variety of measurements than their deep underground counterparts. While backgrounds in deep underground laboratories are extensively studied for large, ultra-low background experiments —resulting in comprehensive background models— less literature is available on background models...
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Krzysztof Szczepaniec (INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso)22/09/2026, 19:08Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPoster
The SABRE North experiment at LNGS is developing ultra-high radiopurity NaI(Tl) detectors to search for dark matter.
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Radio-purity, especially at the very low level of content required by DM searches, is an extremely challenging task, only partially solved so far for NaI(Tl) crystals.
To achieve its goal, SABRE North utilizes the technique called Zone Refining for NaI powder... -
Ms Kayleigh Johnson (STFC)22/09/2026, 19:09
The Boulby Underground Laboratory features a world-class material screening facility dedicated to the radioassay of samples for rare-event particle physics research. This poster will introduce the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS), one of a number of techniques employed at Boulby.
By using ion counting techniques, the ICP-MS determines the concentrations of U-238 and...
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Leonardo Perna (Gran Sasso Science Institute)22/09/2026, 19:10
The CROSS experiment, currently operating at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Spain), is dedicated to the search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}\mathrm{Mo}$.
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CROSS employs enriched $\mathrm{Li_2MoO_4}$ and $\mathrm{TeO_2}$ crystals operated as cryogenic bolometers, together with a secondary bolometric readout of scintillation and Cherenkov light, enabling the... -
Dr Kris Haverson (Astrocent / CAMK PAN)22/09/2026, 19:11Poster
A novel concept of GEM-like structures has recently been proposed, in which a wavelength-shifting (WLS) material is deposited inside the holes of the structure. This approach can enhance light collection efficiency in Ar-based dual-phase TPCs, addressing challenges associated with the gas–liquid interface as well as scalability limitations in future detectors.
In this work, we present...
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Christoph Seibt (Technische Universität Dresden)22/09/2026, 19:12
One of the most important topics to get highly sensitive detection setups is the use of radiopure materials. To validate and classify these materials screening is required, where the usual methods are ICPMS and gamma spectrometry. However, alpha spectrometry can be used as an alternative method for large surface components. An advantage of alpha spectrometry is its sensitivity to multiple...
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Stephanie Lyons (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)22/09/2026, 19:13Poster
Tritium is a naturally occurring radioisotope in the environment due to both cosmogenic activation and the modern nuclear fuel cycle. It also remains a problematic background contribution for dark matter and solar neutrino experiments. With a Q$_{\beta}$ value of 18.6 keV, it overlaps with the WIMP search and pp and $^7$Be neutrino search regions of interest. Additionally, tritium is a...
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Odhongo Schephatia (CNRS)22/09/2026, 19:14
Radon-222 is an important source of radioactive background in low-background experiments using liquid scintillators, such as JUNO, Borexino, or KamLAND. In these large-volume detectors, the liquid scintillator, particularly Linear Alkylbenzene (LAB) in the case of JUNO, must exhibit an extremely low level of radioactivity in order to preserve the experimental performance. Produced by 226Ra...
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Davide D'Angelo (Università degli Studi di Milano & INFN)22/09/2026, 19:15Poster
The direct detection of particle dark matter through nuclear recoils at the keV scale remains a primary objective of underground experiments worldwide. NaI(Tl) scintillators are of particular interest due to their long-standing role in the search for an annual modulation signal, as reported by the DAMA/LIBRA experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, which still lacks an independent...
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Kangkang Zhao (Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS)-Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)22/09/2026, 19:16Poster
BULLKID-DM is a cryogenic experiment designed for direct detection of WIMP-like dark matter particles with a mass below 1 GeV/c$^2$. The detector will consist of a stack of 16 intrinsic silicon wafers, for a total mass of 800 g, that are carved in 2320 active dice with a volume of 5.4$\times$5.4$\times$5 mm3. Each die will be instrumented with multiplexed Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs),...
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Simone Quitadamo (Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca)22/09/2026, 19:17Poster
Cosmogenic activation is a common source of radioactive background for experiments searching for rare events, such as neutrinoless double beta decay, dark matter interactions and supernova neutrino detection. Long-living isotopes, with half-lives higher than tens of days, can be particularly problematic when their decay chains produce background events in the region of interest of the...
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Rajan Anderson Dornan (Instituto de Fisica UNAM)22/09/2026, 19:18Poster
Dark matter is expected to constitute a large fraction of the universe and may interact with terrestrial detectors through a variety of channels. The PICO collaboration searches for these interactions using bubble chamber technology, which offers two key advantages: intrinsic insensitivity to gamma- and electron-induced recoils, and flexibility in the choice of active fluid. PICO's use of...
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Dr Harkirat Riyat (BHSU/LZ)22/09/2026, 19:19Poster
The Black Hills Underground Campus (BHUC) on the 4850L of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) is pursuing methods to enhance its radioassay sensitivity when screening materials for future ultra-low-background experiments. This will be primarily pursued through its dual-crystal High Purity Germanium (HPGe) system, the Twins. This detector station holds dual detectors in a large...
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Dr Vicente Pesudo (CIEMAT)22/09/2026, 19:20Poster
The precise characterization of environmental gamma-ray radiation in underground laboratories, and of its dependence on radon activity, is fundamental for the next generation of rare-event search experiments. In this contribution, we present a measurement campaign performed in Hall C of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory using a portable setup in which a high-purity germanium detector and a...
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Elena Ferri (INFN Sezione Milano Bicocca)22/09/2026, 19:21Poster
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first tonne-scale experiment using cryogenic calorimeters. The detector is located underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and consists of 988 TeO2 crystals operated in a dilution refrigerator at a base temperature of about 10 mK. Thanks to the large exposure, sharp energy resolution, segmented structure and...
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Dr Lachlan Milligan (University of Birmingham)22/09/2026, 19:22Poster
Rare-event search experiments are continuously extending their sensitivities to unprecedented levels. Achieving these feats requires increasingly small backgrounds, partly as a result of improved shielding schemes and deep underground laboratories that can suppress external backgrounds by several orders of magnitude. Detailed detector and shielding simulations are required to attain a good...
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Sai Pemmaraju (University of Melbourne)22/09/2026, 19:23
The SABRE South experiment at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) is currently in the construction and commissioning phase, preparing to become Australia's first deep-underground dark matter direct detection experiment. Employing an array of ultra-pure NaI(Tl) crystals, SABRE South aims to independently test the annual modulation signal reported by DAMA/LIBRA. We present an...
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Bijaya Sharma (INSTITUTE FOR BASIC SCIENCE, UST)22/09/2026, 19:24
The AMoRE experiment searches for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}$Mo using cryogenic molybdate crystals operated at millikelvin temperatures. A detailed understanding and reduction of radioactive backgrounds near the region of interest is essential for improving the experimental sensitivity. In particular, radioactive contamination on or near the crystal surfaces can produce degraded...
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Corentin Doutre (CEA Saclay - IRFU)22/09/2026, 19:25Poster
The CRAB (Calibrated Recoils for Accurate Bolometry) experiment uses radiative neutron capture to calibrate the response of cryogenic detectors to low-energy nuclear recoils (100 – 1000 eV) with high precision, providing a key characterization for the interpretation of Coherent Elastic Neutrino/Nucleus Scattering measurements and Dark Matter searches.
In this presentation, I will present...
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Oceano (University of Hamburg, Institute for Experimental Physics, Hamburg, 22761, Germany)22/09/2026, 19:26Poster
Neutron spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for a wide range of scientific and industrial applications, including underground dark matter searches. Neutron-induced backgrounds originating from cosmic-ray muons and cavern radioactivity can mimic the expected dark matter signal and therefore constitute a major source of background in rare-event experiments. However, current neutron detection...
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Tea Hall (University of Liverpool)22/09/2026, 19:28Poster
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter direct detection experiment employs a 7-tonne dual phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC), with the primary goal to detect nuclear recoils from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The neutron background must be minimised in LZ, as neutron single scatters produce nuclear recoil signals which are indistinguishable from WIMP interactions. The LZ Outer...
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William Hopkins22/09/2026, 19:29Poster
BUTTON-30 is a 30-tonne gadolinium-doped water-based liquid scintillator (Gd-WbLS) antineutrino detector at the Boulby Underground Laboratory (2850 m w.e.), the first underground deployment of Gd-WbLS and the first antineutrino detector sited directly in rock salt. We present a complete neutron-background model for the detector, developed in Geant4/RAT-PAC, for a sodium- and chlorine-dominated...
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Fang Xie (Fudan University)22/09/2026, 19:30
We study environmental gamma-ray backgrounds relevant to cryogenic bolometer experiments at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL). A CZT detector was used to measure the underground gamma spectrum, and a Geant4 model was developed to simulate its response. The deconvolution method is applied to reconstruct the incident gamma flux.
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The reconstructed flux is then used as an input for... -
Holger Kluck22/09/2026, 19:31Poster
Experiments searching for rare events, such as CE$\nu$NS with NUCLEUS or hypothetical Dark Matter–nucleus scattering with CRESST, are pushing the detection threshold down to sub-100 eV energies. Experiments commonly use Monte Carlo simulations, e.g. with Geant4, to characterize detector response and background. However, in the sub-100 eV energy range, the usually applied approximation of a...
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Damian Ralet (Mirion Technologies)22/09/2026, 19:32
Mirion Technologies has developed detectors to cope with the requirements
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of low radioactivity measurement: the Specialty Ultra Low Background (S-ULB) detectors. For the construction of a S-ULB detector, each element that enters its composition must be selected carefully to reduce as much as possible the intrinsic radioactivity of the detector itself. The S-ULB detectors achieved a consistent... -
Fang Xie (Fudan University)22/09/2026, 19:33Poster
The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) is a key approach to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos and lepton-number violation beyond the Standard Model. Cryogenic scintillating bolometers, offering excellent energy resolution and powerful particle identification, are a leading technology for next-generation 0νββ experiments.
We report the status of cryogenic bolometer R&D for...
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Ms Beth Green (STFC)22/09/2026, 19:34
The Boulby Underground Screening (BUGS) facility at Boulby has been operational since 2014. In the intervening 12 years, the facility has characterised materials from a number of low background experiments. This talk will discuss each of the techniques employed in BUGS and our plans for development as the Boulby Underground Laboratory expands.
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Vincenzo Caracciolo (University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN)22/09/2026, 19:35Poster
The control of intrinsic radioactivity, surface contamination and detector-induced backgrounds is an important requirement for rare-event searches and for precision nuclear measurements performed in underground laboratories. GAIAS (GAxIal Analysis with Scintillators) is an experimental programme at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) aimed at exploiting radiopure crystal scintillators as...
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Roberto Santorelli (CIEMAT)22/09/2026, 19:36Poster
The control of chemical and radioactive contamination in argon is a key requirement for current and future large liquid-argon detectors. In this contribution, we discuss the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) as a fast and species-sensitive technique to complement detector-based purity observables, which are often indirect and require time-consuming data processing...
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Nevena Cail (SDSM&T)22/09/2026, 19:37
Near-detector surface contamination from 210 Pb produces a persistent background for the SuperCDMS experiment due to subsequent beta decays and 206 Pb nuclear recoils from 210 Po alpha decays. Characterizing the energy and position distribution of these near-surface backgrounds through a calibration campaign is essential for informing fiducial-volume cuts and determining their effectiveness....
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Riccardo Biondi (Gran Sasso Science Institute)22/09/2026, 19:38Poster
The LEGEND project (Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless ββ Decay) aims to detect neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge using enriched high-purity germanium detectors immersed in liquid argon. The LEGEND collaboration is currently operating the LEGEND-200 detector in the Underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS), instrumented with around 130 kg of germanium detectors immersed...
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Daehoon Ha22/09/2026, 19:39
Rare-event search experiments such as AMoRE (Advanced Mo-based Rare process Experiment) require ultra-low background levels and therefore operate in underground laboratories. In such environments, where ventilation is limited, ²²²Rn progeny accumulate on detector surfaces and contribute to the experimental backgrounds. The AMoRE-II, the phase-2 of the AMoRE program, is located underground at...
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Michela Lai (Queen's University)22/09/2026, 19:40Poster
DarkSide‑20k is the next‑generation, multi‑tonne dark matter experiment within the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. The core of the experiment, primarily designed for WIMP direct detection, consists of a dual‑phase time projection chamber (TPC) filled with about 50 tonnes of liquid argon extracted from underground (UAr) at URANIA (Colorado) and chemically distilled at ARIA (Italy), with...
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Samir Banik (Technische Universität Wien, Atominstitut)22/09/2026, 19:41Poster
The Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers (CRESST) experiment employs scintillating crystals at extremely low temperatures ($\mathcal{O}$(10 mK)) to search for nuclear recoils from hypothetical dark matter (DM) particles. CRESST has achieved thresholds below 100 eV across a wide range of target materials, including CaWO$_{4}$, LiAlO$_{2}$, Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$, and Si....
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Riccardo Elleboro (INFN/Univaq)22/09/2026, 19:42Poster
Current constraints on the Majorana neutrino mass are strongly affected by uncertainties in the nuclear matrix element calculations underlying neutrinoless double-beta decay. A key step toward improving nuclear calculations within a data-driven framework is validating their predictions through challenging nuclear processes, such as highly forbidden $\beta$-decays. The ACCESS (Array of...
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Livia Petrillo (Sapienza, INFN Roma1)22/09/2026, 19:43Poster
CUPID-0 was a pilot experiment based on scintillating cryogenic calorimeters, originally designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{82}$Se. The detector consisted of 26 radiopure ZnSe crystals operated as bolometers and coupled to bolometric light detectors. Over two years of continuous data taking, CUPID-0 demonstrated full $\alpha$ to $\beta/\gamma$ background...
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Luigi Pertoldi (TU Munchen)22/09/2026, 19:44
remage is a Geant4-based simulation framework developed within the LEGEND collaboration to meet the needs of germanium- and liquid-argon-based low-background experiments, and is used for both the main LEGEND experiment and its associated gamma-ray screening stations. It is designed to remove the usual friction of Monte Carlo work in this field: minimal setup to reach a first working...
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Nasim Fatemighomi23/09/2026, 09:00
Radon-222 is a limiting background in many leading dark matter and low-energy neutrino experiments. At SNOLAB, we operate several radon assay systems dedicated to material screening and to measuring radon concentrations in N₂ gas systems and ultra-pure water. This talk will describe these instruments and their capabilities. In addition, it will highlight a recent development aimed at improving...
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Prof. Richard W Schnee (SDSM&T)23/09/2026, 09:20
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Ti cryostat, despite having record low levels of many reported radioactive contaminants, shows a surprisingly high level of radon emanation. Possible explanations include ineffective acid etching of surface contamination, significant surface contamination added after the etching, or surprisingly high diffusion of radon in Ti. Measurements to determine the cause and help...
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Dr Robert Renz Marcelo Gregorio (Australian National University)23/09/2026, 09:40
The International Radon Network was recently established to improve coordination between laboratories and collaborations working on radon detection, measurement, and mitigation has gained support from researchers across the dark matter, neutrinoless double beta decay, and underground physics communities, alongside growing interest in industrial applications and research translation. This...
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Hichem Tedjditi23/09/2026, 10:00
Radon is one of the most significant sources of radioactive background in low-energy and ultra-rare event particle and astroparticle physics experiments, such as neutrinoless double-beta decay searches and direct dark matter detection.
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Future-generation experiments will require radon concentrations at the level of only a few atoms per cubic meter or per kilogram. Achieving such extremely low... -
Pushpa Adhikari23/09/2026, 10:20
Radon and its progeny represent a significant source of background in rare-event physics experiments owing to their continuous production within the natural uranium decay chain. To investigate the diffusion of radon daughters into detector materials, we developed a dedicated experimental setup comprising a controlled radon source, a high-electric-field vacuum chamber, and a thin Nylon-6 film....
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Margherita Noia (University of Zurich)23/09/2026, 10:40
Large liquid xenon experiments have become one of the leading detector technologies applied in rare event searches, such as direct dark matter detection or the search for the neutrinoless double beta decay.
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Significant background sources to these searches arise from progeny isotopes of the radioactive noble gas $^{222}$Rn, which can emanate from detector surfaces. In particular for the next... -
23/09/2026, 11:30Presentation
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Susana Cebrian (Universidad de Zaragoza)24/09/2026, 09:00
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Tommaso Bradanini (INFN Milano-Bicocca)24/09/2026, 09:30Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPresentation
CUPID (CUORE Upgrade with Particle IDentification) is a next-generation experiment aiming to search for $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay of $^{100}$Mo and to probe the inverted-hierarchy region of neutrino masses. CUPID is designed to minimize background for $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay by exploiting the high Q-value of $^{100}$Mo, which sets the region of interest above almost the entirety of the natural...
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Olga Gileva (Center for Underground Physics, IBS)24/09/2026, 09:50Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPresentation
At the Center for Underground Physics (CUP) at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea there are two major scientific directions in the field of low-background physics. The AMoRE experiment is searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of the Mo-100 isotope using molybdate-based bolometric crystals, and the COSINE experiment aims to scrutinize the annual modulation signals...
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Susana Cebrian (Universidad de Zaragoza)24/09/2026, 10:40Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPresentation
Micromesh Gas Structures (Micromegas) as readout of gaseous Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) are being considered in experiments investigating rare phenomena, like the nuclear double beta decay, solar axion detection and low-mass dark matter interactions, due to their good performance on spatial and energy resolution and operation stability. In addition, as they are potentially made mainly of...
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Dimitra Spathara (University of Birmingham)24/09/2026, 11:00Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPresentation
The quest to directly detect dark matter and unravel the nature of neutrinos has driven the development of experimental techniques with unprecedented sensitivity, placing extreme demands on detector-material-induced backgrounds. As a result, the choice of construction materials, particularly those in direct contact with the target medium, has become a critical limiting factor. Electroformed...
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Dr Matthew Newton (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)24/09/2026, 11:20Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPresentation
Materials with extremely low content of radioactive impurities are required for the construction of successful rare-event detectors, where constraints on naturally occurring radionuclides such as 232Th and 238U typically fall in the microBq/kg range or lower, corresponding to parts-per-trillion (ppt) or parts-per-quadrillion (ppq) concentrations. These levels are several orders of magnitude...
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Giovanni Rogers (University of Birmingham (UK), STFC - Boulby Underground Laboratory)24/09/2026, 11:40Production of Radiopure Materials & Additive Manufacturing Industrial ApplicationsPresentation
High purity copper is an attractive material choice for low background detector construction, due to its commercial availability and lack of long-lived radioisotopes. Despite this, copper can still represent an important background, with impurities from the ore, implanted during manufacture or from cosmogenic activation. Underground additive-free electroforming provides a method to produce...
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Roberto Serino (IJCLab - CNRS - Université Paris Saclay)24/09/2026, 12:00
Cryogenic calorimeters are among the most sensitive detectors for the search for neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$), a hypothetical process whose observation would demonstrate lepton number violation and establish the Majorana nature of neutrinos. The discovery potential of these experiments strongly depends on the suppression of radioactive background especially in the region...
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Mrs Claudia Nones (CEA/IRFU/DPhP)24/09/2026, 12:20
BINGO is a technology demonstrator dedicated to the development and validation of novel background suppression techniques for cryogenic calorimetric searches for neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$). The experiment targets a background index at the level of $10^{-5}$ counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$yr), paving the way toward a nearly background-free tonne-scale search using the...
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40. Rapid low-background radioassay techniques for 210Pb and 3H in materials for rare-event searchesMarco Consonni (Università di Milano Bicocca, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)24/09/2026, 13:55
The development of next-generation rare-event experiments requires increasingly sensitive and rapid radioassay techniques for the screening and monitoring of detector materials. In particular, long-lived low-energy emitters such as
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$^{210}$Pb and $^{3}$H represent a critical background source for several low-background applications, while remaining challenging to measure with conventional... -
jongseok Chung (ChungAng University)24/09/2026, 14:15
Rare event search experiments such as AMoRE require precise radioassay of materials to constrain experiment backgrounds. ICP-MS is sensitive only to long-lived nuclides, while HPGe gamma-ray counting is generally limited by low detection efficiency that scales poorly with sample size. To bypass the limitations of these long-established techniques, we are developing a decay energy spectroscopy...
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Aravind Remesan Sreekala (University of Zurich)24/09/2026, 14:35
Germanium spectroscopy is a non-destructive screening method that provides precise information on primordial, cosmogenic, and anthropogenic radioactive contaminants using high-resolution $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy. Gator is a high-sensitivity, low-background germanium spectrometer that is installed at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy. It is operated at an average depth of...
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Isaac Arnquist (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)24/09/2026, 14:55
The development of ultra-low background gadolinium-loaded liquid scintillator (Gd-LS) is critical for current and next-generation experiments in neutrino and rare-event physics, including supernova neutrino detection, reactor monitoring, and as a neutron veto in dark matter searches. The presence of trace radioactive contaminants can introduce backgrounds that severely limit sensitivity. In...
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Chiara Ghiano (LNGS - INFN)24/09/2026, 15:15
The underground ultra-low background laboratory STELLA (SubTerranean Low Level Assay) in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (LNGS-INFN) is principally dedicated to material screening measurements for fundamental physics experiments installed in the underground laboratories. It uses ultra-low background (ULB) gamma-ray spectrometry, but has also...
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Ben Loer (Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory)24/09/2026, 16:05Presentation
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Francesco De Dominicis (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)24/09/2026, 16:35
The discovery that superconducting qubits are sensitive to ionizing radiation has sparked interest beyond the quantum research community. Recent experiments, capable of detecting single interactions from cosmic muons and γ-rays, have highlighted the potential of these devices as a novel type of particle detector. As research in this field is still at an early stage and many questions remain...
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Andy Kubik24/09/2026, 16:55
Interactions of cosmic rays and ionization radiation pose a significant challenge to the development and operation of state-of-the-art quantum devices such as superconducting quantum circuits. Shielded by 2km of rock overburden, the Cryogenic Underground TEst facility (CUTE) at SNOLAB provides a unique ultra-low radiation environment to probe the performance of quantum technologies with a...
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Paul Scovell (STFC)24/09/2026, 17:15Presentation
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Nevena Cail (SDSM&T)Rn Detection and MitigationPresentation
SuperCDMS is a dark matter direct detection experiment preparing to begin at SNOLAB. Ambient radon within the underground cavern poses a significant background risk; prompt interstitial radon allowed to accumulate within the experiment’s lead shielding would increase the experiment's projected background rate by a factor of 2.8 to 6.4 (depending on detector type). To mitigate this background,...
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