Abstract We explore the decay of bound neutrons in the JUNO liquid scintillator detector into invisible particles (e.g.,$$n\rightarrow 3 \nu $$ or$$nn \rightarrow 2 \nu $$ ), which do not produce an observable signal. The invisible decay includes two decay modes:$$ n \rightarrow { inv} $$ and$$ nn \rightarrow { inv} $$ . The invisible decays ofs-shell neutrons in$$^{12}\textrm{C}$$ will leave a highly excited residual nucleus. Subsequently, some de-excitation modes of the excited residual nuclei can produce a time- and space-correlated triple coincidence signal in the JUNO detector. Based on a full Monte Carlo simulation informed with the latest available data, we estimate all backgrounds, including inverse beta decay events of the reactor antineutrino$${\bar{\nu }}_e$$ , natural radioactivity, cosmogenic isotopes and neutral current interactions of atmospheric neutrinos. Pulse shape discrimination and multivariate analysis techniques are employed to further suppress backgrounds. With two years of exposure, JUNO is expected to give an order of magnitude improvement compared to the current best limits. After 10 years of data taking, the JUNO expected sensitivities at a 90% confidence level are$$\tau /B( n \rightarrow { inv} ) > 5.0 \times 10^{31} \, \textrm{years}$$ and$$\tau /B( nn \rightarrow { inv} ) > 1.4 \times 10^{32} \, \textrm{years}$$ . 
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                    This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2026
                            
                            The neutron veto of the XENONnT experiment: results with demineralized water
                        
                    
    
            Abstract Radiogenic neutrons emitted by detector materials are one of the most challenging backgrounds for the direct search of dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). To mitigate this background, the XENONnT experiment is equipped with a novel gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector, which encloses the xenon dual-phase time projection chamber (TPC). The neutron veto (NV) can tag neutrons via their capture on gadolinium or hydrogen, which release$$\gamma $$ -rays that are subsequently detected as Cherenkov light. In this work, we present the first results of the XENONnT NV when operated with demineralized water only, before the insertion of gadolinium. Its efficiency for detecting neutrons is$$({82\pm 1}){\%}$$ , the highest neutron detection efficiency achieved in a water Cherenkov detector. This enables a high efficiency of$$({53\pm 3}){\%}$$ for the tagging of WIMP-like neutron signals, inside a tagging time window of$${250}~{\upmu }\hbox {s}$$ between TPC and NV, leading to a livetime loss of$${1.6}{\%}$$ during the first science run of XENONnT. 
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                            - PAR ID:
- 10625340
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- The European Physical Journal C
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The European Physical Journal C
- Volume:
- 85
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1434-6052
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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