203 research outputs found
Results from the First Science Run of the ZEPLIN-III Dark Matter Search Experiment
The ZEPLIN-III experiment in the Palmer Underground Laboratory at Boulby uses
a 12kg two-phase xenon time projection chamber to search for the weakly
interacting massive particles (WIMPs) that may account for the dark matter of
our Galaxy. The detector measures both scintillation and ionisation produced by
radiation interacting in the liquid to differentiate between the nuclear
recoils expected from WIMPs and the electron recoil background signals down to
~10keV nuclear recoil energy. An analysis of 847kg.days of data acquired
between February 27th 2008 and May 20th 2008 has excluded a WIMP-nucleon
elastic scattering spin-independent cross-section above 8.1x10(-8)pb at
55GeV/c2 with a 90% confidence limit. It has also demonstrated that the
two-phase xenon technique is capable of better discrimination between electron
and nuclear recoils at low-energy than previously achieved by other xenon-based
experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figure
WIMP-nucleon cross-section results from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III
We report experimental upper limits on WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross
sections from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III at the Boulby Underground
Laboratory. A raw fiducial exposure of 1,344 kg.days was accrued over 319 days
of continuous operation between June 2010 and May 2011. A total of eight events
was observed in the signal acceptance region in the nuclear recoil energy range
7-29 keV, which is compatible with background expectations. This allows the
exclusion of the scalar cross-section above 4.8E-8 pb near 50 GeV/c^2 WIMP mass
with 90% confidence. Combined with data from the first run, this result
improves to 3.9E-8 pb. The corresponding WIMP-neutron spin-dependent
cross-section limit is 8.0E-3 pb. The ZEPLIN programme reaches thus its
conclusion at Boulby, having deployed and exploited successfully three liquid
xenon experiments of increasing reach
Quenching Factor for Low Energy Nuclear Recoils in a Plastic Scintillator
Plastic scintillators are widely used in industry, medicine and scientific
research, including nuclear and particle physics. Although one of their most
common applications is in neutron detection, experimental data on their
response to low-energy nuclear recoils are scarce. Here, the relative
scintillation efficiency for neutron-induced nuclear recoils in a
polystyrene-based plastic scintillator (UPS-923A) is presented, exploring
recoil energies between 125 keV and 850 keV. Monte Carlo simulations,
incorporating light collection efficiency and energy resolution effects, are
used to generate neutron scattering spectra which are matched to observed
distributions of scintillation signals to parameterise the energy-dependent
quenching factor. At energies above 300 keV the dependence is reasonably
described using the semi-empirical formulation of Birks and a kB factor of
(0.014+/-0.002) g/MeVcm^2 has been determined. Below that energy the measured
quenching factor falls more steeply than predicted by the Birks formalism.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector: instrument design, manufacture and commissioning
We present details of the technical design and manufacture of the ZEPLIN-III
dark matter experiment. ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase xenon detector which measures
both the scintillation light and the ionisation charge generated in the liquid
by interacting particles and radiation. The instrument design is driven by both
the physics requirements and by the technology requirements surrounding the use
of liquid xenon. These include considerations of key performance parameters,
such as the efficiency of scintillation light collection, restrictions placed
on the use of materials to control the inherent radioactivity levels,
attainment of high vacuum levels and chemical contamination control. The
successful solution has involved a number of novel design and manufacturing
features which will be of specific use to future generations of direct dark
matter search experiments as they struggle with similar and progressively more
demanding requirements.Comment: 25 pages, 19 figures. Submitted to Astropart. Phys. Some figures down
sampled to reduce siz
Single electron emission in two-phase xenon with application to the detection of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering
We present an experimental study of single electron emission in ZEPLIN-III, a
two-phase xenon experiment built to search for dark matter WIMPs, and discuss
applications enabled by the excellent signal-to-noise ratio achieved in
detecting this signature. Firstly, we demonstrate a practical method for
precise measurement of the free electron lifetime in liquid xenon during normal
operation of these detectors. Then, using a realistic detector response model
and backgrounds, we assess the feasibility of deploying such an instrument for
measuring coherent neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering using the ionisation
channel in the few-electron regime. We conclude that it should be possible to
measure this elusive neutrino signature above an ionisation threshold of
3 electrons both at a stopped pion source and at a nuclear reactor.
Detectable signal rates are larger in the reactor case, but the triggered
measurement and harder recoil energy spectrum afforded by the accelerator
source enable lower overall background and fiducialisation of the active
volume
Pulse-shape discrimination and energy resolution of a liquid-argon scintillator with xenon doping
Liquid-argon scintillation detectors are used in fundamental physics
experiments and are being considered for security applications. Previous
studies have suggested that the addition of small amounts of xenon dopant
improves performance in light or signal yield, energy resolution, and particle
discrimination. In this study, we investigate the detector response for xenon
dopant concentrations from 9 +/- 5 ppm to 1100 +/- 500 ppm xenon (by weight) in
6 steps. The 3.14-liter detector uses tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) wavelength
shifter with dual photomultiplier tubes and is operated in single-phase mode.
Gamma-ray-interaction signal yield of 4.0 +/- 0.1 photoelectrons/keV improved
to 5.0 +/- 0.1 photoelectrons/keV with dopant. Energy resolution at 662 keV
improved from (4.4 +/- 0.2)% ({\sigma}) to (3.5 +/- 0.2)% ({\sigma}) with
dopant. Pulse-shape discrimination performance degraded greatly at the first
addition of dopant, slightly improved with additional additions, then rapidly
improved near the end of our dopant range, with performance becoming slightly
better than pure argon at the highest tested dopant concentration. Some
evidence of reduced neutron scintillation efficiency with increasing dopant
concentration was observed. Finally, the waveform shape outside the TPB region
is discussed, suggesting that the contribution to the waveform from
xenon-produced light is primarily in the last portion of the slow component
The scintillation and ionization yield of liquid xenon for nuclear recoils
XENON10 is an experiment designed to directly detect particle dark matter. It
is a dual phase (liquid/gas) xenon time-projection chamber with 3D position
imaging. Particle interactions generate a primary scintillation signal (S1) and
ionization signal (S2), which are both functions of the deposited recoil energy
and the incident particle type. We present a new precision measurement of the
relative scintillation yield \leff and the absolute ionization yield Q_y, for
nuclear recoils in xenon. A dark matter particle is expected to deposit energy
by scattering from a xenon nucleus. Knowledge of \leff is therefore crucial for
establishing the energy threshold of the experiment; this in turn determines
the sensitivity to particle dark matter. Our \leff measurement is in agreement
with recent theoretical predictions above 15 keV nuclear recoil energy, and the
energy threshold of the measurement is 4 keV. A knowledge of the ionization
yield \Qy is necessary to establish the trigger threshold of the experiment.
The ionization yield \Qy is measured in two ways, both in agreement with
previous measurements and with a factor of 10 lower energy threshold.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures. To be published in Nucl. Instrum. Methods
Measurement of the (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr(n,gamma) and (139)La(n,gamma) cross sections at n_TOF
Open AccessNeutron capture cross sections of Zr and La isotopes have important implications in the field of nuclear astrophysics as well as in the nuclear technology. In particular the Zr isotopes play a key role for the determination of the neutron density in the He burning zone of the Red Giant star, while the (139)La is important to monitor the s-process abundances from Ba up to Ph. Zr is also largely used as structural materials of traditional and advanced nuclear reactors. The nuclear resonance parameters and the cross section of (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr and (139)La have been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Based on these data the capture resonance strength and the Maxwellian-averaged cross section were calculated
Measurement of the neutron capture cross section of the s-only isotope 204Pb from 1 eV to 440 keV
The neutron capture cross section of 204Pb has been measured at the CERN
n_TOF installation with high resolution in the energy range from 1 eV to 440
keV. An R-matrix analysis of the resolved resonance region, between 1 eV and
100 keV, was carried out using the SAMMY code. In the interval between 100 keV
and 440 keV we report the average capture cross section. The background in the
entire neutron energy range could be reliably determined from the measurement
of a 208Pb sample. Other systematic effects in this measurement could be
investigated and precisely corrected by means of detailed Monte Carlo
simulations. We obtain a Maxwellian average capture cross section for 204Pb at
kT=30 keV of 79(3) mb, in agreement with previous experiments. However our
cross section at kT=5 keV is about 35% larger than the values reported so far.
The implications of the new cross section for the s-process abundance
contributions in the Pb/Bi region are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, article submitted to Phys. Rev.
- …