Muon detector for the COSINE-100 experiment

The COSINE-100 dark matter search experiment has started taking physics data with the goal of performing an independent measurement of the annual modulation signal observed by DAMA/LIBRA. A muon detector was constructed by using plastic scintillator panels in the outermost layer of the shield surrounding the COSINE-100 detector. It detects cosmic ray muons in order to understand the impact of the muon annual modulation on dark matter analysis. Assembly and initial performance tests of each module have been performed at a ground laboratory. The installation of the detector in the Yangyang Underground Laboratory (Y2L) was completed in the summer of 2016. Using three months of data, the muon underground flux was measured to be 328 ± 1(stat.)± 10(syst.) muons/m2/day. In this report, the assembly of the muon detector and the results from the analysis are presented

The COSINE-100 data acquisition system

COSINE-100 is a dark matter direct detection experiment designed to test the annual modulation signal observed by the DAMA/LIBRA experiment. COSINE-100 consists of 8 NaI(Tl) crystals with a total mass of 106 kg, a 2200 L liquid scintillator veto, and 37 muon detector panels. We present details of the data acquisition system of COSINE-100, including waveform storage using flash analog-to-digital converters for crystal events and integrated charge storage using charge-sensitive analog-to-digital converters for liquid scintillator and plastic scintillator muon veto events. We also discuss several trigger conditions developed in order to distinguish signal events from photomultiplier noise events. The total trigger rate observed for the crystal/liquid scintillator (plastic scintillator) detector is 15 Hz (24 Hz)

Search for a dark matter-induced annual modulation signal in NaI(Tl) with the COSINE-100 experiment

We present new constraints on the dark matter-induced annual modulation signal using 1.7\,years, of COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7\,kg⋅years. The COSINE-100 experiment, consisting of 106\,kg of NaI(Tl) target, is designed to carry out a model-independent test of DAMA/LIBRA's claim by searching for the same annual modulation signal using the same NaI(Tl) target. The crystal data show 2.7 counts/keV/kg/day background rate on average in the 2--6 keV energy region of interest. Using a chi-squared minimization method we observe best fit values for modulation amplitude and phase at 0.0092±0.0067 counts/keV/kg/day and 127.2±45.9 days, respectively

Background modeling for dark matter search with 1.7 years of COSINE-100 data

We present a background model for dark matter searches using an array of NaI(Tl) crystals in the COSINE-100 experiment that is located in the Yangyang underground laboratory. The model includes background contributions from both internal and external sources, including cosmogenic radionuclides and surface 210Pb contamination. To build the model in the low energy region, with a threshold of 1 keV, we used a depth profile of 210Pb contamination in the surface of the NaI(Tl) crystals determined in a comparison between measured and simulated spectra. We also considered the effect of the energy scale errors propagated from the statistical uncertainties and the nonlinear detector response at low energies. The 1.7 years COSINE-100 data taken between October 21, 2016 and July 18, 2018 were used for this analysis. Our Monte Carlo simulation provides a non-Gaussian peak around 50 keV originating from beta decays of bulk 210Pb in a good agreement with the measured background. This model estimates that the activities of bulk 210Pb and 3H are dominating the background rate that amounts to an average level of 2.85±0.15 counts/day/keV/kg in the energy region of (1–6) keV, using COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7 kg⋅years

Three-year annual modulation search with COSINE-100

COSINE-100 is a direct detection dark matter experiment that aims to test DAMA/LIBRA’s claim of dark matter discovery by searching for a dark-matter-induced annual modulation signal with NaI(Tl) detectors. We present new constraints on the annual modulation signal from a dataset with a 2.82 yr livetime utilizing an active mass of 61.3 kg for a total exposure of 173 kg · yr. This new result features an improved event selection that allows for both lowering the energy threshold to 1 keV and a more precise time-dependent background model. In the 1–6 and 2–6 keV energy intervals, we observe best-fit values for the modulation amplitude of 0.0067 � 0.0042 and 0.0051 � 0.0047 counts=ðday · kg · keVÞ, respectively, with a phase fixed at 152.5 days