The $^{144}$Ce source for SOX

International audience; The SOX (Short distance neutrino Oscillations with BoreXino) project aims at testing the light sterile neutrino hypothesis. To do so, two artificials sources of antineutrinos and neutrinos respectively will be consecutively deployed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in close vicinity to Borexino, a large liquid scintillator detector. This document reports on the source production and transportation. The source should exhibit a long lifetime and a high decay energy, a requirement fullfilled by the (144)Ce-(144)Pr pair at secular equilibrium. It will be produced at FSUE “Mayak” PA using spent nuclear fuel. It will then be shielded and packed according t…