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Dr Alice Hamer (STFC)22/09/2026, 19:00Rn Detection and MitigationPoster
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 (0ฮฝฮฒฮฒ) using high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors enriched in $^{76}$Ge (Q$_{ฮฒฮฒ}$ = 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 0ฮฝฮฒฮฒ. 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 (CEฮฝNS) 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, 19:05Low-Background Assay TechniquesPoster
Low-Background Counting capabilities at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) are consolidated at the Black Hills Underground Campus (BHUC). Located in SURFโs 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 โresulting in comprehensive background modelsโ 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, 19:09Low-Background Assay TechniquesPoster
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, 19:10BolometersPoster
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 gasโliquid interface as well as scalability limitations in future detectors.
In this work, we present...
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Christoph Seibt (Technische Universitรคt Dresden)22/09/2026, 19:12Low-Background Assay TechniquesPoster
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, 19:14Liquid Scintillators and Cherenkov DetectorsPoster
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 (Universitร 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 (Universitร 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, 19:23Crystal ScintillatorsPoster
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, 19:24Radiogenic backgroundsPoster
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 โ 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, 19:30Radiogenic backgroundsPoster
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 Matterโnucleus 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, 19:32Low-Background Assay TechniquesPoster
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 (0ฮฝฮฒฮฒ) 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 0ฮฝฮฒฮฒ experiments.
We report the status of cryogenic bolometer R&D for...
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Ms Beth Green (STFC)22/09/2026, 19:34Low-Background Assay TechniquesPoster
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, 19:37Mitigation of Surface ContaminationPoster
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 ฮฒฮฒ 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, 19:39Mitigation of Surface ContaminationPoster
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, ยฒยฒยฒRn 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
DarkSideโ20k is the nextโgeneration, multiโtonne dark matter experiment within the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. The core of the experiment, primarily designed for WIMP direct detection, consists of a dualโphase 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 Universitรคt 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, 19:44Experiments Background, Models and SimulationsPoster
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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