A Study of the Residual 39Ar Content in Argon from Underground Sources

The discovery of argon from underground sources with significantly less 39Ar than atmospheric argon was an important step in the development of direct-detection dark matter experiments using argon as the active target. We report on the design and operation of a low background detector with a single phase liquid argon target that was built to study the 39Ar content of the underground argon. Underground argon from the Kinder Morgan CO2 plant in Cortez, Colorado was determined to have less than 0.65% of the 39Ar activity in atmospheric argon.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figure

Discovery of photospheric argon in very hot central stars of planetary nebulae and white dwarfs

We report the first discovery of argon in hot evolved stars and white dwarfs. We have identified the ArVII 1063.55A line in some of the hottest known (Teff=95000-110000 K) central stars of planetary nebulae and (pre-) white dwarfs of various spectral type. We determine the argon abundance and compare it to theoretical predictions from stellar evolution theory as well as from diffusion calculations. We analyze high-resolution spectra taken with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. We use non-LTE line-blanketed model atmospheres and perform line-formation calculations to compute synthetic argon line profiles. We find a solar argon abundance in the H-rich central star NGC1360 and in the H-deficient PG1159 star PG1424+535. This confirms stellar evolution modeling that predicts that the argon abundance remains almost unaffected by nucleosynthesis. For the DAO-type central star NGC7293 and the hot DA white dwarfs PG0948+534 and REJ1738+669 we find argon abundances that are up to three orders of magnitude smaller than predictions of calculations assuming equilibrium of radiative levitation and gravitational settling. For the hot DO white dwarf PG1034+001 the theoretical overprediction amounts to one dex. Our results confirm predictions from stellar nucleosynthesis calculations for the argon abundance in AGB stars. The argon abundance found in hot white dwarfs, however, is another drastic example that the current state of equilibrium theory for trace elements fails to explain the observations quantitatively.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Towards a liquid Argon TPC without evacuation: filling of a 6 m^3 vessel with argon gas from air to ppm impurities concentration through flushing

In this paper we present a successful experimental test of filling a volume of 6 m$^3$ with argon gas, starting from normal ambient air and reducing the impurities content down to few parts per million (ppm) oxygen equivalent. This level of contamination was directly monitored measuring the slow component of the scintillation light of the Ar gas, which is sensitive to {\it all} sources of impurities affecting directly the argon scintillation.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Proc. 1st International Workshop towards the Giant Liquid Argon Charge Imaging Experiment (GLA2010), Tsukuba, March 201

A stabilized low-frequency alternating-current electric arc

Establishing an arc between water-cooled tungsten-tipped electrodes, maintaining the arc along the centerline of a central jet of argon gas, and surrounding the argon jet with a coaxial sheath of nitrogen stabilizes operation of a low-frequency ac electric arc

High Efficiency Detection of Argon Scintillation Light of 128nm Using LAAPDs

The possibility of efficient collection and detection of vacuum ultraviolet light as emitted by argon, krypton, and xenon gas is studied. Absolute quantum efficiencies of large area avalanche photodiodes (LAAPDs) are derived at these wavelengths. VUV light of wavelengths down to the 128nm of Ar emission is shown to be detectable with silicon avalanche photodiodes at quantum efficiencies above 42%. Flexible Mylar foil overcoated with Al+MgF$_2$ is measured to have a specular reflectivity of $\sim$91% at argon emission wavelength. Low-pressure argon gas is shown to emit significant amounts of non-UV radiation. The average energy expenditure for the creation of non-UV photons in argon gas at this pressure is measured to be below 378 eV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Talk given at IEEE 2005 Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, Puerto Ric

Preliminary test results of LAr prototype detector

WIMPs are a well-motivated galactic dark matter candidate. Liquid argon (LAr) is an attractive target for the direct detection of WIMPs. The LAr prototype detector is designed to study the technology and property of LAr detector. The prototype detector have an active volume containing 0.65 kg of liquid argon. The liquid nitrogen(LN) cooling system allows the temperature of liquid argon to be maintained at the boiling point (87.8 K) with fluctuations less than 0.1 K. The prototype was calibrated with a Na$^{22}$ source, with the light yield 1.591$\pm$0.019 p.e./keV for the 511 keV gamma rays using the domestic-made argon purification system.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Low temperature scattering with the R-matrix method: argon-argon scattering

Results for elastic atom-atom scattering are obtained as a first practical application of RmatReact, a new code for generating high-accuracy scattering observables from potential energy curves. RmatReact has been created in response to new experimental methods which have paved the way for the routine production of ultracold atoms and molecules, and hence the experimental study of chemical reactions involving only a small number of partial waves. Elastic scattering between argon atoms is studied here. There is an unresolved discrepancy between different argon-argon potential energy curves which give different numbers of vibrational bound states and different scattering lengths for the argon-argon dimer. Depending on the number of bound states, the scattering length is either large and positive or large and negative. Scattering observables, specifically the scattering length, effective range, and partial and total cross-sections, are computed at low collision energies and compared to previous results. In general, good agreement is obtained, although our full scattering treatment yields resonances which are slightly lower in energy and narrower than previous determinations using the same potential energy curve.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, 3 table