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Simulation of muon-induced backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute

Dakota K. Keblbeck*, Eric Mayotte, Uwe Greife, Kyle G. Leach, Wouter Van De Pontseele, Caitlyn Stone-Whitehead, Luke Wanner, and Grace Wagner

  • *Contact author: dakotakeblbeck@gmail.com
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 043023 – Published 12 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7n8l-pr2g

Abstract

We present a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation of muon-induced backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute, a shallow-underground facility with ≈415  meter water equivalent overburden. Using coupled mute and geant4 frameworks, we characterize the production and transport of muon-induced secondaries through site-specific rock compositions and geometries, establishing a proof of concept for high-precision, end-to-end simulations. Our simulations employ angular-dependent muon energy distributions, which improve secondary flux accuracy. For the Subatomic Particle Hideout and Cryolab I research spaces, we predict total muon-induced neutron fluxes of (8.52±1.30sys)×10−3  m−2 s−1 and (8.86±1.62sys)×10−3  m−2 s−1, respectively. Electromagnetic backgrounds are expected to dominate the total flux, with γ-ray components of (5.54±0.70sys)×10−1  m−2 s−1 and (6.51±1.06sys)×10−1  m−2 s−1 for the Subatomic Particle Hideout and Cryolab I facilities, respectively. Additionally, we develop a depth-intensity relation to predict the muon-induced neutron flux as a function of facility depth, which is consistent with measurements across a broad range of underground depths. These results provide quantitative background predictions for experimental design and sensitivity projections at shallow- and deep-underground facilities. They further demonstrate that local geology and overburden geometry influence muon-induced secondary yields and energy spectra, emphasizing the need for site-specific simulations for accurate underground background characterization. Therefore, the simulation framework has been made publicly available for the broader low-background physics community to enable meaningful interfacility comparisons.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 043023– Published 12 February, 2026
  • Received 8 October 2025
  • Accepted 22 January 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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