arXiv Open Access 2025

Simulation of Muon-induced Backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE)

Dakota K. Keblbeck Eric Mayotte Uwe Greife Kyle G. Leach Wouter Van De Pontseele +3 lainnya
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Abstrak

We present a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation of muon-induced backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE), a shallow-underground facility with $\approx 415$~m.w.e. overburden. Using coupled \textsc{mute} and \textsc{geant4} frameworks, we characterize the production and transport of muon-induced secondaries through site-specific rock compositions and geometries, establishing a proof-of-concept for high-precision, end-to-end simulations. Our simulations employ angular-dependent muon energy distributions, which improve secondary flux accuracy. For the Subatomic Particle Hideout and Cryolab I research spaces, we predict total muon-induced neutron fluxes of $(8.52 \pm 1.30_{\text{sys}}) \times 10^{-3}$~m$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ and $(8.86 \pm 1.62_{\text{sys}}) \times 10^{-3}$~m$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$, respectively. Additionally, we develop a Depth-Intensity Relation (DIR) to predict the muon-induced neutron flux as a function of facility depth, which is consistent with measurements across a broad range of underground depths. These results provide quantitative background predictions for experimental design and sensitivity projections at shallow- and deep-underground facilities. They further demonstrate that local geology and overburden geometry influence muon-induced secondary yields and energy spectra, emphasizing the need for site-specific simulations for accurate underground background characterization. Therefore, the simulation framework has been made publicly available at \href{https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17196581}{https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17196581}, for the broader low-background physics community to enable meaningful inter-facility comparisons.

Penulis (8)

D

Dakota K. Keblbeck

E

Eric Mayotte

U

Uwe Greife

K

Kyle G. Leach

W

Wouter Van De Pontseele

C

Caitlyn Stone-Whitehead

L

Luke Wanner

G

Grace Wagner

Format Sitasi

Keblbeck, D.K., Mayotte, E., Greife, U., Leach, K.G., Pontseele, W.V.D., Stone-Whitehead, C. et al. (2025). Simulation of Muon-induced Backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE). https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.06150

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2025
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arXiv
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