Simulation of the background from 13C(α,n)16O reaction in the JUNO scintillator

Large-scale organic liquid scintillator detectors are highly efficient in the detection of MeV-scale electron antineutrinos. These signal events can be detected through inverse beta decay on protons, which produce a positron accompanied by a neutron. A noteworthy background for antineutrinos coming from nuclear power reactors and from the depths of the Earth (geoneutrinos) is generated by (α,n) reactions. In organic liquid scintillator detectors, α particles emitted from intrinsic contaminants such as 238U, 232Th, and 210Pb/210Po, can be captured on 13C nuclei, followed by the emission of a MeV-scale neutron. Three distinct interaction mechanisms can produce prompt energy depositions preceding the delayed neutron capture, leading to a pair of events correlated in space and time within the detector. Thus, (α,n) reactions represent an indistinguishable background in liquid scintillator-based antineutrino detectors, where their expected rate and energy spectrum are typically evaluated via Monte Carlo simulations. This work presents results from the open-source SaG4n software, used to calculate the expected energy depositions from the neutron and any associated de-excitation products. Also simulated is a detailed detector response to these interactions, using a dedicated Geant4-based simulation software from the JUNO experiment. An expected measurable 13C(α,n)16O event rate and reconstructed prompt energy spectrum with associated uncertainties, are presented in the context of JUNO, however, the methods and results are applicable and relevant to other organic liquid scintillator neutrino detectors.