151 research outputs found
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Analysis of 83mKr prompt scintillation signals in the PIXeY detector
Prompt scintillation signals from 83mKr calibration sources are a useful metric to calibrate the spatial variation of light collection efficiency and electric field magnitude of a two phase liquid-gas xenon time projection chamber. Because 83mKr decays in two steps, there are two prompt scintillation pulses for each calibration event, denoted S1a and S1b. We study the ratio of S1b to S1a signal sizes in the Particle Identification in Xenon at Yale (PIXeY) experiment and its dependence on the time separation between the two signals (Δ t), notably its increase at low Δ t. In PIXeY data, the Δ t dependence of S1b/S1a is observed to exhibit two exponential components: one with a time constant of 0.05 ± 0.02 μ s, which can be attributed to processing effects and pulse overlap and one with a time constant of 10.2 ± 2.2 μs that increases in amplitude with electric drift field, the origin of which is not yet understood
Nuclear Recoil Scintillation Linearity of a High Pressure He Gas Detector
We investigate scintillation linearity of a commercial high pressure He
gas detector using monoenergetic 2.8 MeV neutrons from a deuterium-deuterium
fusion neutron generator. The scintillation response of the detector was
measured for a range of recoil energies between 83 keV and 626 keV by tagging
neutrons scattering into fixed angles with a far-side organic scintillator
detector. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations were compared to experimental data
to determine the linearity of the detector response by comparing the scaling of
the energy deposits in the simulations to the detector output. In this
analysis, a linear scintillation response corresponds to a consistent value for
the scaling factor between simulated energy deposits and experimental data for
several different scattering angles. We demonstrate that the detector can be
used to detect fast neutron interactions down to 83 keV recoil energies and can
be used to characterize low-energy neutron sources, one of its potential
applications
Simulations of events for the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment
The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter search aims to achieve a sensitivity to the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section down to (1–2)×10−12 pb at a WIMP mass of 40 GeV/c2. This paper describes the simulations framework that, along with radioactivity measurements, was used to support this projection, and also to provide mock data for validating reconstruction and analysis software. Of particular note are the event generators, which allow us to model the background radiation, and the detector response physics used in the production of raw signals, which can be converted into digitized waveforms similar to data from the operational detector. Inclusion of the detector response allows us to process simulated data using the same analysis routines as developed to process the experimental data
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Projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment to the 0νββ decay of Xe 136
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will enable a neutrinoless double β decay search in parallel to the main science goal of discovering dark matter particle interactions. We report the expected LZ sensitivity to Xe136 neutrinoless double β decay, taking advantage of the significant (>600 kg) Xe136 mass contained within the active volume of LZ without isotopic enrichment. After 1000 live-days, the median exclusion sensitivity to the half-life of Xe136 is projected to be 1.06×1026 years (90% confidence level), similar to existing constraints. We also report the expected sensitivity of a possible subsequent dedicated exposure using 90% enrichment with Xe136 at 1.06×1027 years
Applying Superfluid Helium to Light Dark Matter Searches: Demonstration of the HeRALD Detector Concept
The SPICE/HeRALD collaboration is performing R&D to enable studies of sub-GeV
dark matter models using a variety of target materials. Here we report our
recent progress on instrumenting a superfluid He target mass with a
transition-edge sensor based calorimeter to detect both atomic signals (e.g.
scintillation) and He quasiparticle (phonon and roton) excitations. The
sensitivity of HeRALD to the critical "quantum evaporation" signal from He
quasiparticles requires us to block the superfluid film flow to the
calorimeter. We have developed a heat-free film-blocking method employing an
unoxidized Cs film, which we implemented in a prototype "HeRALD v0.1" detector
of 10~g target mass. This article reports initial studies of the atomic
and quasiparticle signal channels. A key result of this work is the measurement
of the quantum evaporation channel's gain of , which will
enable He-based dark matter experiments in the near term. With this gain
the HeRALD detector reported here has an energy threshold of 145~eV at 5 sigma,
which would be sensitive to dark matter masses down to 220~MeV/c.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
A Stress Induced Source of Phonon Bursts and Quasiparticle Poisoning
The performance of superconducting qubits is degraded by a poorly
characterized set of energy sources breaking the Cooper pairs responsible for
superconductivity, creating a condition often called "quasiparticle poisoning."
Recently, a superconductor with one of the lowest average quasiparticle
densities ever measured exhibited quasiparticles primarily produced in bursts
which decreased in rate with time after cooldown. Similarly, several cryogenic
calorimeters used to search for dark matter have also observed an unknown
source of low-energy phonon bursts that decrease in rate with time after
cooldown. Here, we show that a silicon crystal glued to its holder exhibits a
rate of low-energy phonon events that is more than two orders of magnitude
larger than in a functionally identical crystal suspended from its holder in a
low-stress state. The excess phonon event rate in the glued crystal decreases
with time since cooldown, consistent with a source of phonon bursts which
contributes to quasiparticle poisoning in quantum circuits and the low-energy
events observed in cryogenic calorimeters. We argue that relaxation of
thermally induced stress between the glue and crystal is the source of these
events, and conclude that stress relaxation contributes to quasiparticle
poisoning in superconducting qubits and the athermal phonon background in a
broad class of rare-event searches.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. W. A. Page and R. K. Romani contributed equally
to this work. Correspondence should be addressed to R. K. Roman
Measurement of the gamma ray background in the Davis cavern at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
Deep underground environments are ideal for low background searches due to the attenuation of cosmic rays by passage through the earth. However, they are affected by backgrounds from γ-rays emitted by 40K and the 238U and 232Th decay chains in the surrounding rock. The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions with a liquid xenon TPC located within the Davis campus at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, South Dakota, at the 4850-foot level. In order to characterise the cavern background, in-situ γ-ray measurements were taken with a sodium iodide detector in various locations and with lead shielding. The integral count rates (0–3300 keV) varied from 596 Hz to 1355 Hz for unshielded measurements, corresponding to a total flux from the cavern walls of 1.9 ± 0.4 γ cm−2s−1. The resulting activity in the walls of the cavern can be characterised as 220 ± 60 Bq/kg of 40K, 29 ± 15 Bq/kg of 238U, and 13 ± 3 Bq/kg of 232Th
Projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment to the two-neutrino and neutrinoless double β decays of Xe 134
The projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment to two-neutrino and neutrinoless double β decay of Xe134 is presented. LZ is a 10-tonne xenon time-projection chamber optimized for the detection of dark matter particles and is expected to start operating in 2021 at Sanford Underground Research Facility, USA. Its large mass of natural xenon provides an exceptional opportunity to search for the double β decay of Xe134, for which xenon detectors enriched in Xe136 are less effective. For the two-neutrino decay mode, LZ is predicted to exclude values of the half-life up to 1.7×1024 years at 90% confidence level (CL) and has a three-sigma observation potential of 8.7×1023 years, approaching the predictions of nuclear models. For the neutrinoless decay mode LZ, is projected to exclude values of the half-life up to 7.3×1024 years at 90% CL
Cosmogenic production of {37}^Ar in the context of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment
We estimate the amount of {37}^Ar produced in natural xenon via cosmic-ray-induced spallation, an inevitable consequence of the transportation and storage of xenon on the Earth’s surface. We then calculate the resulting {37}^Ar concentration in a 10-tonne payload (similar to that of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment) assuming a representative schedule of xenon purification, storage, and delivery to the underground facility. Using the spallation model by Silberberg and Tsao, the sea-level production rate of {37}^Ar in natural xenon is estimated to be 0.024 atoms/kg/day. Assuming the xenon is successively purified to remove radioactive contaminants in 1-tonne batches at a rate of 1 tonne/month, the average {37}^Ar activity after 10 tons are purified and transported underground is 0.058 - 0.090 μ Bq/kg, depending on the degree of argon removal during above-ground purification. Such cosmogenic {37}^Ar will appear as a noticeable background in the early science data, while decaying with a 35-day half-life. This newly noticed production mechanism of {37}^Ar should be considered when planning for future liquid-xenon-based experiments
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