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Systematic Effects in Pulse Shape Analysis of HPGe Detector Signals for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay

Pulse shape analysis is an important background reduction and signal identification technique for next generation of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments examining 76Ge. We present a study of the systematic uncertainties in one such parametric pulse-shape analysis technique for separating multi-site backgrounds from single-site signal events. We examined systematic uncertainties for events in full-energy gamma peaks (predominantly multi-site), double escape peaks (predominantly single-site) and the Compton continuum near double-beta decay endpoint (which will be the dominant background for most neutrinoless double-beta decay searches). In short, we find total (statistical plus systematic) fractional uncertainties in the pulse shape cut survival probabilities of: 6.6%, 1.5% and 3.8% for double-escape, continuum and gamma-ray events respectively.