A very low background HPGe detector operating deep underground at 4800 m water equivalent.
A very low background HPGe detector has been installed in the Fréjus underground laboratory in order to investigate radioactive contaminations. The main features and capabilities of the detector are described here.
Development of the ultra-low background HPGe spectrometer OBELIX at Modane underground laboratory
A new ultra low-background spectrometer based on a HPGe detector with a sensitive volume of 600 cm3 was developed to investigate rare nuclear processes, such as resonant neutrino-less double electron capture (0νEC/EC) and double beta decay processes (2ν2β−, 2νβ+EC, 2νEC/EC) to the excited states of daughter nuclei. The spectrometer was installed at the Modane underground laboratory (LSM, France, 4800 m w.e.). Sensitivity of the spectrometer and its background were tested. A new method for the efficiency calibration in measurements of low-active samples was developed. The spectrometer was used for the measurements of low active materials and samples. Results obtained in 395 h investigation of resonant 0νEC/EC decay of 106Cd to the 2718 keV and 2741 keV excited states of 106Pd with ∼23.2 g of enriched 106Cd and 2ν2β− decay of 100Mo sample with a mass of 2588 g to the 0+, 1130 keV and 2+, 539.5 keV excited states of 100Ru are presented.
Gender Politics and Research: Male and Female Violence in Intimate Relationships
This article reviews a wide range of research reports on male and female violence in intimate relationships and highlights the political nature of domestic violence research. The authors review incidence and prevalence-based research that uses quantitative surveys and illustrate how quantitative, family-focussed researchers tend to ignore the political and social context of domestic violence and the complex issues of gender and power. The authors argue that understanding the complexities of domestic violence requires clear definitions of what constitutes domestic violence and multi-method approaches to research, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.