The radioactive source calibration system of the PROSPECT reactor antineutrino detector

Abstract The Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum (PROSPECT) Experiment is a reactor neutrino experiment designed to search for sterile neutrinos with a mass on the order of 1 eV/c measure the spectrum of electron antineutrinos from a highly-enriched 235U nuclear reactor. The PROSPECT detector consists of an 11 by 14 array of optical segments in 6Li-loaded liquid scintillator at the High Flux Isotope Reactor in Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Antineutrino events are identified via inverse beta decay and read out by photomultiplier tubes located at the ends of each segment. The detector response is characterized using a radioactive source calibration system. This paper describes the design, operation, and performance of the PROSPECT source calibration system.