50 litres TPC with sCMOS-based optical readout for the CYGNO project

The CYGNO project aims at realising a one cubic meter gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC) equipped with Scientific CMOS (sCMOS) commercial cameras to optically readout Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) to be operated at the underground of Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS). The purpose of the project is to study the technology needed for a large size gaseous TPC (30–100 m ) operated at atmospheric pressure for the directional search of low mass O(GeV) dark matter and low energy (eg solar) neutrinos astronomy. The roadmap of the project foresees the underground operation of a 50 litres TPC prototype, called LIME, the largest TPC realised with this technology, fully equipped with copper and water shielding. LIME is equivalent to about a 1/20 of the CYGNO demonstrator and aims to validate: The construction materials, the Monte Carlo simulations, the data reconstruction and the particle identification performances at low energy threshold. LIME is under installation at the LNGS and it is supposed to start data taking at the beginning of 2022. The detector description and installation will be presented, as well as the overground performance and limitations that require underground characterisation