Preparation of Neutron-activated Xenon for Liquid Xenon Detector Calibration

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We report the preparation of neutron-activated xenon for the calibration of liquid xenon (LXe) detectors.

• Gamma rays from the decay of xenon metastable states, produced by fast neutron activation, were detected and their activities measured in a LXe scintillation detector.
• Following a five-day activation of natural xenon gas with a Cf-252 (4 x 10^5 n/s) source, the activities of two gamma ray lines at 164 keV and 236 keV, from Xe-131m and Xe-129m metastable states, were measured at about 95 and 130 Bq/kg, respectively.
• We also observed three additional lines at 35 keV, 100 keV and 275 keV, which decay away within a few days.