Attenuation length of scintillation light in liquid xenon

The scintillation light induced by /sup 241/Am 5.5-MeV alpha particles in one liter of liquid xenon was detected with an ultraviolet (UV) photomultiplier optically coupled to the test chamber by a sapphire window. The attenuation of the light output was measured by varying the distance between the internal radiation source and the photomultiplier window in the range 2.37-0.25 cm. A fit to the data with an exponential function gives an effective attenuation length of 3 cm. This value includes the loss of UV photons due to the poor surface reflectivity of the chamber inner walls made of stainless steel.<
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