31 research outputs found
Present status of IGEX dark matter search at Canfranc Underground Laboratory
One IGEX 76Ge double-beta decay detector is currently operating in the
Canfranc Underground Laboratory in a search for dark matter WIMPs, through the
Ge nuclear recoil produced by the WIMP elastic scattering. A new exclusion plot
has been derived for WIMP-nucleon spin-independent interactions. To obtain this
result, 40 days of data from the IGEX detector (energy threshold 4 keV),
recently collected, have been analyzed. These data improve the exclusion limits
derived from all the other ionization germanium detectors in the mass region
from 20 GeV to 200 GeV, where a WIMP supposedly responsible for the annual
modulation effect reported by the DAMA experiment would be located. The new
IGEX exclusion contour enters, by the first time, the DAMA region by using only
raw data, with no background discrimination, and excludes its upper left part.
It is also shown that with a moderate improvement of the detector performances,
the DAMA region could be fully explored.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, talk delivered at the 7th International Workshop
on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP 2001), September
2001, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy (to appear in the Conference
Proceedings, Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.)
Improved constraints on WIMPs from the International Germanium Experiment IGEX
One IGEX 76Ge double-beta decay detector is currently operating in the
Canfranc Underground Laboratory in a search for dark matter WIMPs, through the
Ge nuclear recoil produced by the WIMP elastic scattering. A new exclusion
plot, has been derived for WIMP-nucleon spin-independent interactions. To
obtain this result, 40 days of data from the IGEX detector (energy threshold E
\~ 4 keV), recently collected, have been analyzed. These data improve the
exclusion limits derived from all the other ionization germanium detectors in
the mass region from 20 GeV to 200 GeV, where a WIMP supposedly responsible for
the annual modulation effect reported by the DAMA experiment would be located.
The new IGEX exclusion contour enters, by the first time, the DAMA region by
using only raw data, with no background discrimination, and excludes its upper
left part. It is also shown that with a moderate improvement of the detector
performances, the DAMA region could be fully explored.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Physics Letters B (revised version
after referee's comments, some figures added
New constraints on WIMPs from the Canfranc IGEX dark matter search
The IGEX Collaboration enriched 76Ge double-beta decay detectors are
currently operating in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory with an overburden
of 2450 m.w.e. A recent upgrade has made it possible to use them in a search
for WIMPs. A new exclusion plot has been derived for WIMP-nucleon
spin-independent interaction. To obtain this result, 30 days of data from one
IGEX detector, which has an energy threshold of ~4 keV, have been considered.
These data improve the exclusion limits derived from other germanium diode
experiments in the ~50 GeV DAMA region, and show that with a moderate
improvement of the background below 10 keV, the DAMA region may be tested with
an additional 1 kg-year of exposure.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physics Letter
Pulse Shape Discrimination in the IGEX Experiment
The IGEX experiment has been operating enriched germanium detectors in the
Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Spain) in a search for the neutrinoless double
decay of 76Ge. The implementation of Pulse Shape Discrimination techniques to
reduce the radioactive background is described in detail. This analysis has
been applied to a fraction of the IGEX data, leading to a rejection of ~60 % of
their background, in the region of interest (from 2 to 2.5 MeV), down to ~0.09
c/(keV kg y).Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Price assymetry in the Dutch retail gasoline market
This paper analyses retail price adjustments in the Dutch gasoline market. We estimate an asymmetric error correction model on weekly price changes for the years 1996 to 2001. We construct five datasets, one for each working day. The conclusions on asymmetric pricing are shown to differ over these datasets, suggesting that the choice of the day for which prices are observed matters more than commonly believed. In our view, the insufficient robustness of outcomes might explain the mixed conclusions found in the literature. Using two approaches, we also show that the effect of asymmetry on Dutch consumer costs is negligible
Modeling of GERDA Phase II data
The GERmanium Detector Array (Gerda) experiment at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS) of INFN is searching for neutrinoless double-beta (0\u3bd\u3b2\u3b2) decay of 76Ge. The technological challenge of Gerda is to operate in a \u201cbackground-free\u201d regime in the region of interest (ROI) after analysis cuts for the full 100 kg\ub7yr target exposure of the experiment. A careful modeling and decomposition of the full-range energy spectrum is essential to predict the shape and composition of events in the ROI around Q\u3b2\u3b2 for the 0\u3bd\u3b2\u3b2 search, to extract a precise measurement of the half-life of the double-beta decay mode with neutrinos (2\u3bd\u3b2\u3b2) and in order to identify the location of residual impurities. The latter will permit future experiments to build strategies in order to further lower the background and achieve even better sensitivities. In this article the background decomposition prior to analysis cuts is presented for Gerda Phase II. The background model fit yields a flat spectrum in the ROI with a background index (BI) of 16.04 120.85+0.78\ub710 123 cts/(keV\ub7kg\ub7yr) for the enriched BEGe data set and 14.68 120.52+0.47\ub710 123 cts/(keV\ub7kg\ub7yr) for the enriched coaxial data set. These values are similar to the one of Phase I despite a much larger number of detectors and hence radioactive hardware components
Search for exotic physics in double-β decays with GERDA Phase II
A search for Beyond the Standard Model double- decay modes ofGe has been performed with data collected during the Phase II of theGERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment, located at Laboratori Nazionalidel Gran Sasso of INFN (Italy). Improved limits on the decays involvingMajorons have been obtained, compared to previous experiments with Ge,with half-life values on the order of 10 yr. For the first time withGe, limits on Lorentz invariance violation effects in double-decay have been obtained. The isotropic coefficient, which embeds Lorentz violation indouble- decay, has been constrained at the order of GeV. Wealso set the first experimental limits on the search for light exotic fermionsin double- decay, including sterile neutrinos.<br
Hunting down the X17 boson at the CERN SPS
Indexación ScopusRecently, the ATOMKI experiment has reported new evidence for the excess of e+e- events with a mass ∼ 17 MeV in the nuclear transitions of 4He, that they previously observed in measurements with 8Be. These observations could be explained by the existence of a new vector X17 boson. So far, the search for the decay X17 → e+e- with the NA64 experiment at the CERN SPS gave negative results. Here, we present a new technique that could be implemented in NA64 aiming to improve the sensitivity and to cover the remaining X17 parameter space. If a signal-like event is detected, an unambiguous observation is achieved by reconstructing the invariant mass of the X17 decay with the proposed method. To reach this goal an optimization of the X17 production target, as well as an efficient and accurate reconstruction of two close decay tracks, is required. A dedicated analysis of the available experimental data making use of the trackers information is presented. This method provides independent confirmation of the NA64 published results [1], validating the tracking procedure. The detailed Monte Carlo study of the proposed setup and the background estimate show that the goal of the proposed search is feasible. © 2020, The Author(s).https://link-springer-com.recursosbiblioteca.unab.cl/article/10.1140%2Fepjc%2Fs10052-020-08725-