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Demonstration of the light collection stability of a PEN-based wavelength shifting reflector in a tonne scale liquid argon detector
Authors:
V. Gupta,
G. R. Araujo,
M. Babicz,
L. Baudis,
P. -J. Chiu,
S. Choudhary,
M. Goldbrunner,
A. Hamer,
M. Kuźniak,
M. Kuźwa,
A. Leonhardt,
E. Montagna,
G. Nieradka,
H. B. Parkinson,
F. Pietropaolo,
T. R. Pollmann,
F. Resnati,
S. Schönert,
A. M. Szelc,
K. Thieme,
M. Walczak
Abstract:
Liquid argon detectors rely on wavelength shifters for efficient detection of scintillation light. The current standard is tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB), but it is challenging to instrument on a large scale. Poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN), a polyester easily manufactured as thin sheets, could simplify the coverage of large surfaces with wavelength shifters. Previous measurements have shown tha…
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Liquid argon detectors rely on wavelength shifters for efficient detection of scintillation light. The current standard is tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB), but it is challenging to instrument on a large scale. Poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN), a polyester easily manufactured as thin sheets, could simplify the coverage of large surfaces with wavelength shifters. Previous measurements have shown that commercial grades of PEN have approximately 50% light conversion efficiency relative to TPB. Encouraged by these results, we conducted a large-scale measurement using $4~m^2$ combined PEN and specular reflector foils in a two-tonne liquid argon dewar to assess its stability over approximately two weeks. This test is crucial for validating PEN as a viable substitute for TPB. The setup used for the measurement of the stability of PEN as a wavelength shifter is described, together with the first results, showing no evidence of performance deterioration over a period of 12 days.
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Submitted 26 November, 2024;
originally announced November 2024.
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A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics
Authors:
J. Aalbers,
K. Abe,
V. Aerne,
F. Agostini,
S. Ahmed Maouloud,
D. S. Akerib,
D. Yu. Akimov,
J. Akshat,
A. K. Al Musalhi,
F. Alder,
S. K. Alsum,
L. Althueser,
C. S. Amarasinghe,
F. D. Amaro,
A. Ames,
T. J. Anderson,
B. Andrieu,
N. Angelides,
E. Angelino,
J. Angevaare,
V. C. Antochi,
D. Antón Martin,
B. Antunovic,
E. Aprile,
H. M. Araújo
, et al. (572 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neut…
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The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.
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Submitted 4 March, 2022;
originally announced March 2022.
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Sensitivity of the DARWIN observatory to the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe
Authors:
F. Agostini,
S. E. M. Ahmed Maouloud,
L. Althueser,
F. Amaro,
B. Antunovic,
E. Aprile,
L. Baudis,
D. Baur,
Y. Biondi,
A. Bismark,
P. A. Breur,
A. Brown,
G. Bruno,
R. Budnik,
C. Capelli,
J. Cardoso,
D. Cichon,
M. Clark,
A. P. Colijn,
J. J. Cuenca-García,
J. P. Cussonneau,
M. P. Decowski,
A. Depoian,
J. Dierle,
P. Di Gangi
, et al. (70 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
The DARWIN observatory is a proposed next-generation experiment to search for particle dark matter and for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe. Out of its 50$\,$t total natural xenon inventory, 40$\,$t will be the active target of a time projection chamber which thus contains about 3.6 t of $^{136}$Xe. Here, we show that its projected half-life sensitivity is $2.4\times10^{27}\,$yr, u…
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The DARWIN observatory is a proposed next-generation experiment to search for particle dark matter and for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe. Out of its 50$\,$t total natural xenon inventory, 40$\,$t will be the active target of a time projection chamber which thus contains about 3.6 t of $^{136}$Xe. Here, we show that its projected half-life sensitivity is $2.4\times10^{27}\,$yr, using a fiducial volume of 5t of natural xenon and 10$\,$yr of operation with a background rate of less than 0.2$~$events/(t$\cdot$yr) in the energy region of interest. This sensitivity is based on a detailed Monte Carlo simulation study of the background and event topologies in the large, homogeneous target. DARWIN will be comparable in its science reach to dedicated double beta decay experiments using xenon enriched in $^{136}$Xe.
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Submitted 7 September, 2020; v1 submitted 25 March, 2020;
originally announced March 2020.
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The first dual-phase xenon TPC equipped with silicon photomultipliers and characterisation with $^{37}$Ar
Authors:
L. Baudis,
Y. Biondi,
M. Galloway,
F. Girard,
S. Hochrein,
S. Reichard,
P. Sanchez-Lucas,
K. Thieme,
J. Wulf
Abstract:
For the first time, a small dual-phase (liquid/gas) xenon time projection chamber was equipped with a top array of silicon photomultipliers for light and charge readout. Here we describe the instrument in detail, as well as the data processing and the event position reconstruction algorithms. We obtain a spatial resolution of ~1.5 mm in the horizontal plane. To characterise the detector performanc…
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For the first time, a small dual-phase (liquid/gas) xenon time projection chamber was equipped with a top array of silicon photomultipliers for light and charge readout. Here we describe the instrument in detail, as well as the data processing and the event position reconstruction algorithms. We obtain a spatial resolution of ~1.5 mm in the horizontal plane. To characterise the detector performance, we show calibration data with internal $^{83\text{m}}$Kr and $^{37}$Ar sources, and we detail the production of the latter as well as its introduction into the system. We finally compare the observed light and charge yields down to electronic recoil energies of 2.82 keV to predictions based on NEST v2.0.
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Submitted 1 November, 2021; v1 submitted 3 March, 2020;
originally announced March 2020.