Argon-39 Background in DUNE Photon Detectors

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a $40$-kt liquid argon detector that will be constructed $5000$~ft underground in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in order to study neutrino and proton decay physics. Instrumenting liquid argon with photon detectors to record scintillation in addition to the ionization signal can significantly improve time and energy resolution of the experiment. Argon produces light with wavelength of $128$~nm. The reference design for the photon detectors includes acrylic bars covered in wavelength shifter, where the scintillation light can be captured and reemitted with longer wavelengths, then detected using silicon photomultipliers. Radiological backgrounds may noticeably deteriorate the photon detection system performance, especially for low-energy interactions. A particularly important background comes from argon-39 decays, because argon-39 is present in natural argon that will be used in DUNE and the background rate increases with the size of the experiment. The effect of the argon-39 background has been studied and is presented in this talk.