Measurement of radon decays with the LVD-setup for neutrino searching

Abstract

The LVD (Large Volume Detector), located at the Low Background Laboratory, Gran Sasso, Italy, is built to detect neutrinos from stellar core collapses in our Galaxy. The peculiarity of the search for rare events requires close attention to the background of the experiment, such as the natural radioactivity of the rock and detector materials and the interaction of cosmic ray muons underground. The LVD is capable of detecting gamma quanta from the decay of radon daughter nuclei. We convincingly show the connection between the change in the background counting rate from gammas in the detector and the change in the concentration of radon nuclei in the experimental hall. We also point out the existence of another source of radon change, this is seismic activity.