The Electronics and Data Acquisition System of the DarkSide Dark Matter Search

It is generally inferred from astronomical measurements that Dark Matter (DM) comprises approximately 27\% of the energy-density of the universe. If DM is a subatomic particle, a possible candidate is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP), and the DarkSide-50 (DS) experiment is a direct search for evidence of WIMP-nuclear collisions. DS is located underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, and consists of three active, embedded components; an outer water veto (CTF), a liquid scintillator veto (LSV), and a liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC). This paper describes the data acquisition and electronic systems of the DS detectors, designed to detect the residual ionization from such collisions

Adhesive properties of urea-formaldehyde resins blended with soy protein concentrate

Commercial urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin was blended with a renewable and environmentally friendly soy protein concentrate (SP) adhesive in order to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds. The UF resin was replaced by SP in different proportions (10 wt%, 20 wt%, and 30 wt%). Rheology showed pseudoplastic behavior of UF/SP slurries, even at low SP content, caused by the entanglements between polymer chains. Nevertheless, viscosity of UF/SP slurries dropped to 100 mPa·s at high shear rate, reaching the viscosity value of the UF resin alone. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy confirmed a chemical reaction between the two components. Shear strength in wet conditions of UF/SP blends was 29% higher than SP alone. Water extraction showed an increase of 55% in the insoluble fraction caused by the formation of methylene bridges between UF and SP. Finally, the incorporation of soy protein slurries to a ureaformaldehyde resin led to the development of adhesives with high solid content and appropriate viscosity to be used by the spray method, and environmentally friendlier than the resins currently used by the wood industry.Fil: Bacigalupe, Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; ArgentinaFil: Molinari, Fabricio Nicolás. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Eisenberg, Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; ArgentinaFil: Escobar, Mariano Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; Argentin

DarkSide-50, a background free experiment for dark matter searches

The existence of dark matter is inferred from gravitational effects, but its nature remains a deep mystery. One possibility, motivated by considerations in elementary particle physics, is that dark matter consists of elementary particles, such as the hypothesized Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), with mass ~ 100 GeV and cross-section ~ 10−47 cm2, that can be gravitationally trapped inside our galaxy and revealed by their scattering on nuclei. It should be possible to detect WIMPs directly, as the orbital motion of the WIMPs composing the dark matter halo pervading the galaxy should result in WIMP-nucleus collisions of sufficient energy to be observable in the laboratory. The DarkSide-50 experiment is a direct WIMP search using a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr-TPC) with an active mass of 50 kg with a high sensitivity and an ultra-low background detector

The Electronics and Data Acquisition System of the DarkSide Dark Matter Search

It is generally inferred from astronomical measurements th at Dark Matter (DM) comprises approximately 27% of the energy-dens ity of the universe. If DM is a subatomic particle, a possible candidate is a Weakl y Interacting Mas- sive Particle (WIMP), and the DarkSide-50 (DS) experiment i s a direct search for evidence of WIMP-nuclear collisions. DS is located undergr ound at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, and consists of thr ee active, embedded components; an outer water veto (CTF), a liquid scintillato r veto (LSV), and a liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC). This pap er describes the data acquisition and electronic systems of the DS detectors , designed to detect the residual ionization from

First Results from the DarkSide-50 Dark Matter Experiment at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

We report the first results of DarkSide-50, a direct search for dark matter operating in the un- derground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) and searching for the rare nuclear recoils possibly induced by weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The dark matter detector is a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber with a ( 46.4 0.7 ) kg active mass, operated inside a 30 t or- ganic liquid scintillator neutron veto, which is in turn installed at the center of a 1 kt water Cherenkov veto for the residual flux of cosmic rays. We report here the null results of a dark matter search for a ( 1422 67 ) kg d exposure with an atmospheric argon fill. This is the most sensitive dark matter search performed with an argon target, corresponding to a 90% CL upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section of 6.1 1