  Experiments designed to study rare processes, such as neutrinoless double
beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$), are crucial tests for physics beyond the
standard model. These experiments rely on reducing the intrinsic radioactive
background to unprecedented levels, while adequately shielding the detectors
from external sources of radioactivity. An understanding of the potential for
neutron excitation of the shielding and detector materials is important for
obtaining this level of sensitivity. Using the broad-spectrum neutron beam at
LANSCE, we have measured inelastic neutron scattering on $^{nat}$Cu. The goal
of this work is focused on understanding the background rates from neutrons
interacting in these materials in regions around the Q-values of many candidate
$0\nu\beta\beta$ decay isotopes, as well as providing data for benchmarking
Monte Carlo simulations of background events. Results: We extracted the level
cross sections from the $\gamma$ production cross section for 46 energy levels
in $^{nat}$Cu . These level cross sections were compared with the available
experimental data, as well as the ENDF/B-VII evaluation for discrete levels. We
also examined the potential implications of our measurements on
$0\nu\beta\beta$ measurements and found that many of the commonly studied
$0\nu\beta\beta$ isotopes had Q-values below the cutoff for ENDF/B-VII
evaluated discrete levels in either Cu nucleus.
