9 research outputs found
Performance of a cryogenic system prototype for the XENON1T Detector
We have developed an efficient cryogenic system with heat exchange and
associated gas purification system, as a prototype for the XENON1T experiment.
The XENON1T detector will use about 3 ton of liquid xenon (LXe) at a
temperature of 175K as target and detection medium for a dark matter search. In
this paper we report results on the cryogenic system performance focusing on
the dynamics of the gas circulation-purification through a heated getter, at
flow rates above 50 Standard Liter per Minute (SLPM). A maximum flow of 114
SLPM has been achieved, and using two heat exchangers in parallel, a heat
exchange efficiency better than 96% has been measured
Study of light detection and sensitivity for a ton-scale liquid xenon dark matter detector
Liquid Hole-Multipliers: A potential concept for large single-phase noble-liquid TPCs of rare events
The neutron background of the XENON100 dark matter experiment
The XENON100 experiment, installed underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, aims to directly detect dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their elastic scattering off xenon nuclei. This paper presents a study on the nuclear recoil background of the experiment, taking into account neutron backgrounds from (α, n) reactions and spontaneous fission due to natural radioactivity in the detector and shield materials, as well as muon-induced neutrons. Based on Monte Carlo simulations and using measured radioactive contaminations of all detector components, we predict the nuclear recoil backgrounds for the WIMP search results published by the XENON100 experiment in 2011 and 2012, 0.11 events and 0.17 events, respectively, and conclude that they do not limit the sensitivity of the experiment