Analyzing Decay Patterns of Xenon-134

The primary objective of this experiment was to measure neutron-induced backgrounds on isotopes of interest to neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay observations. At Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) we can study neutron-induced backgrounds with our enriched sample of 134Xe. In this study, we focused on the 134Xe(n, 2n)133Xe interaction. We utilized germanium detectors to detect gamma rays emitted during the subsequent decay of 133Xe. The acquired data was analyzed to understand the decay patterns of 133Xe and evaluate the probability of external neutrons influencing future 0νββ-decay experiments, which involve mixtures of Xenon isotopes. Two potential decay paths were identified for the resultant 133Xe: isomeric transition with a half-life of 2.918 days and typical beta-decay to 133Cs with a half-life of 5.2475 days. By measuring specific gamma-ray counts at 233.221 keV (for isomeric transition) and 81 keV (for typical beta-decay) over time, the study aimed to establish an exponential relation between the counts and decay time, which has been observed. These known half-lives and expected gamma-ray values were employed to identify false counts and determine the cross-section of the 134Xe(n,2n)133Xe interaction for incoming neutron energies of 10.0 and 12.0 MeV.