Simulation-based Validation of Pulse Shape Discrimination for the \textsc{Majorana Demonstrator}

The \textsc{Majorana Demonstrator}, currently under construction at Sanford Underground Research Facility, will search for neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) in $^{76}$Ge. Given the extremely long half-life of this decay, the experiment aims to reduce background to $<3$ counts/tonne-year in the 4-keV-wide region of interest. Because of the unique characteristics of the p-type point contact (PPC) detectors used in the \textsc{Demonstator}, pulse shape analysis (PSA) can be used to discriminate candidate $0\nu\beta\beta$ signal events from background gamma rays. A simulation framework has been written to validate the PSA algorithms. Described here are results of validation studies, comparing PSA results on simulated and experimental data.