Sensitivity of future liquid argon dark matter search experiments to core-collapse supernova neutrinos

Future liquid-argon DarkSide-20k and Argo detectors, designed for direct dark matter search, will be sensitive also to core-collapse supernova neutrinos, via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. This interaction channel is flavor-insensitive with a high-cross section, enabling for a high-statistics neutrino detection with target masses of ∼50 t and ∼360 t for DarkSide-20k and Argo respectively. Thanks to the low-energy threshold of ∼0.5 keVnr achievable by exploiting the ionization channel, DarkSide-20k and Argo have the potential to discover supernova bursts throughout our galaxy and up to the Small Magellanic Cloud, respectively, assuming a 11-M⊙ progenitor star. We report also on the sensitivity to the neutronization burst, whose electron neutrino flux is suppressed by oscillations when detected via charged current and elastic scattering. Finally, the accuracies in the reconstruction of the average and total neutrino energy in the different phases of the supernova burst, as well as its time profile, are also discussed, taking into account the expected background and the detector response

Separating Ar39 from Ar40 by cryogenic distillation with Aria for dark matter searches

Aria is a plant hosting a 350m cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is being installed in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. It was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of 39Ar in argon extracted from underground sources, called Underground Argon (UAr), which is used for dark-matter searches. Indeed, 39Ar is a -emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors. In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of the isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant

Separating 39Ar{^{39}\hbox {Ar}} from 40Ar{^{40}\hbox {Ar}} by cryogenic distillation with Aria for dark-matter searches

Aria is a plant hosting a 350 m cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is being installed in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. It was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of 39Ar in argon extracted from underground sources, called Underground Argon (UAr), which is used for dark-matter searches. Indeed, 39Ar is a beta -emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors. In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of the isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant

Sensitivity of future liquid argon dark matter search experiments to core-collapse supernova neutrinos

none276Future liquid-argon DarkSide-20k and Argo detectors, designed for direct dark matter search, will be sensitive also to core-collapse supernova neutrinos, via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. This interaction channel is flavor-insensitive with a high-cross section, enabling for a high-statistics neutrino detection with target masses of ∼50 t and ∼360 t for DarkSide-20k and Argo respectively. Thanks to the low-energy threshold of ∼0.5 keVnr achievable by exploiting the ionization channel, DarkSide-20k and Argo have the potential to discover supernova bursts throughout our galaxy and up to the Small Magellanic Cloud, respectively, assuming a 11-M⊙ progenitor star. We report also on the sensitivity to the neutronization burst, whose electron neutrino flux is suppressed by oscillations when detected via charged current and elastic scattering. Finally, the accuracies in the reconstruction of the average and total neutrino energy in the different phases of the supernova burst, as well as its time profile, are also discussed, taking into account the expected background and the detector response.noneAgnes P.; Albergo S.; Albuquerque I.F.M.; Alexander T.; Alici A.; Alton A.K.; Amaudruz P.; Arcelli S.; Ave M.; Avetissov I.C.; Avetisov R.I.; Azzolini O.; Back H.O.; Balmforth Z.; Barbarian V.; Barrado Olmedo A.; Barrillon P.; Basco A.; Batignani G.; Bondar A.; Bonivento W.M.; Borisova E.; Bottino B.; Boulay M.G.; Buccino G.; Bussino S.; Busto J.; Buzulutskov A.; Cadeddu M.; Cadoni M.; Caminata A.; Canci N.; Cappello G.; Caravati M.; Cardenas-Montes M.; Carlini M.; Carnesecchi F.; Castello P.; Catalanotti S.; Cataudella V.; Cavalcante P.; Cavuoti S.; Cebrian S.; Cela Ruiz J.M.; Celano B.; Chashin S.; Chepurnov A.; Chyhyrynets E.; Cicalo C.; Cifarelli L.; Cintas D.; Coccetti F.; Cocco V.; Colocci M.; E. Conde Vilda; Consiglio L.; Copello S.; Corning J.; Covone G.; Czudak P.; D'Auria S.; Da Rocha Rolo M.D.; Dadoun O.; Daniel M.; Davini S.; De Candia A.; De Cecco S.; De Falco A.; De Filippis G.; De Gruttola D.; De Guido G.; De Rosa G.; Della Valle M.; Dellacasa G.; De Pasquale S.; Derbin A.V.; Devoto A.; Di Noto L.; Dionisi C.; Di Stefano P.; Dolganov G.; Dordei F.; Doria L.; Downing M.; Erjavec T.; Fernandez Diaz M.; Fiorillo G.; Franceschi A.; Franco D.; Frolov E.; Funicello N.; Gabriele F.; Galbiati C.; Garbini M.; Garcia Abia P.; Gendotti A.; Ghiano C.; Giampaolo R.A.; Giganti C.; Giorgi M.A.; Giovanetti G.K.; Goicoechea Casanueva V.; Gola A.; Graciani Diaz R.; Grigoriev G.Y.; Grobov A.; Gromov M.; Guan M.; Guerzoni M.; Gulino M.; Guo C.; Hackett B.R.; Hallin A.; Haranczyk M.; Hill S.; Horikawa S.; Hubaut F.; Hugues T.; Hungerford E.V.; Ianni A.; Ippolito V.; James C.C.; Jillings C.; Kachru P.; Kemp A.A.; Kendziora C.L.; Keppel G.; Khomyakov A.V.; Kim S.; Kish A.; Kochanek I.; Kondo K.; Korga G.; Kubankin A.; Kugathasan R.; Kuss M.; Kuzniak M.; La Commara M.; Lai M.; Langrock S.; Leyton M.; Li X.; Lidey L.; Lissia M.; Longo G.; Machulin I.N.; Mapelli L.; Marasciulli A.; Margotti A.; Mari S.M.; Maricic J.; Martinez M.; Martinez Rojas A.D.; Martoff C.J.; Masoni A.; Mazzi A.; McDonald A.B.; Mclaughlin J.; Messina A.; Meyers P.D.; Miletic T.; Milincic R.; Moggi A.; Moharana A.; Moioli S.; Monroe J.; Morisi S.; Morrocchi M.; Mozhevitina E.N.; Mroz T.; Muratova V.N.; Muscas C.; Musenich L.; Musico P.; Nania R.; Napolitano T.; Navrer Agasson A.; Nessi M.; Nikulin I.; Nowak J.; Oleinik A.; Oleynikov V.; Pagani L.; Pallavicini M.; Pandola L.; Pantic E.; Paoloni E.; Paternoster G.; Pegoraro P.A.; Pelczar K.; Pellegrini L.A.; Pellegrino C.; Perotti F.; Pesudo V.; Picciau E.; Pietropaolo F.; Pira C.; Pocar A.; Poehlmann D.M.; Pordes S.; Poudel S.S.; Pralavorio P.; Price D.; Raffaelli F.; Ragusa F.; Ramirez A.; Razeti M.; Razeto A.; Renshaw A.L.; Rescia S.; Rescigno M.; Resnati F.; Retiere F.; Rignanese L.P.; Ripoli C.; Rivetti A.; Rode J.; Romero L.; Rossi M.; Rubbia A.; Salatino P.; Samoylov O.; Sanchez Garcia E.; Sandford E.; Sanfilippo S.; Santone D.; Santorelli R.; Savarese C.; Scapparone E.; Schlitzer B.; Scioli G.; Semenov D.A.; Shaw B.; Shchagin A.; Sheshukov A.; Simeone M.; Skensved P.; Skorokhvatov M.D.; Smirnov O.; Smith B.; Sokolov A.; Steri A.; Stracka S.; Strickland V.; Stringer M.; Sulis S.; Suvorov Y.; Szelc A.M.; Tartaglia R.; Testera G.; Thorpe T.N.; Tonazzo A.; Torres-Lara S.; Tricomi A.; Unzhakov E.V.; Usai G.; Vallivilayil John T.; Viant T.; Viel S.; Vishneva A.; Vogelaar R.B.; Wada M.; Wang H.; Wang Y.; Westerdale S.; Wheadon R.J.; Williams L.; Wojcik M.M.; Wojcik M.; Xiao X.; Yang C.; Ye Z.; Zani A.; Zichichi A.; Zuzel G.; Zykova M.P.Agnes, P.; Albergo, S.; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Alexander, T.; Alici, A.; Alton, A. K.; Amaudruz, P.; Arcelli, S.; Ave, M.; Avetissov, I. C.; Avetisov, R. I.; Azzolini, O.; Back, H. O.; Balmforth, Z.; Barbarian, V.; Barrado Olmedo, A.; Barrillon, P.; Basco, A.; Batignani, G.; Bondar, A.; Bonivento, W. M.; Borisova, E.; Bottino, B.; Boulay, M. G.; Buccino, G.; Bussino, S.; Busto, J.; Buzulutskov, A.; Cadeddu, M.; Cadoni, M.; Caminata, A.; Canci, N.; Cappello, G.; Caravati, M.; Cardenas-Montes, M.; Carlini, M.; Carnesecchi, F.; Castello, P.; Catalanotti, S.; Cataudella, V.; Cavalcante, P.; Cavuoti, S.; Cebrian, S.; Cela Ruiz, J. M.; Celano, B.; Chashin, S.; Chepurnov, A.; Chyhyrynets, E.; Cicalo, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Cintas, D.; Coccetti, F.; Cocco, V.; Colocci, M.; E., Conde Vilda; Consiglio, L.; Copello, S.; Corning, J.; Covone, G.; Czudak, P.; D'Auria, S.; Da Rocha Rolo, M. D.; Dadoun, O.; Daniel, M.; Davini, S.; De Candia, A.; De Cecco, S.; De Falco, A.; De Filippis, G.; De Gruttola, D.; De Guido, G.; De Rosa, G.; Della Valle, M.; Dellacasa, G.; De Pasquale, S.; Derbin, A. V.; Devoto, A.; Di Noto, L.; Dionisi, C.; Di Stefano, P.; Dolganov, G.; Dordei, F.; Doria, L.; Downing, M.; Erjavec, T.; Fernandez Diaz, M.; Fiorillo, G.; Franceschi, A.; Franco, D.; Frolov, E.; Funicello, N.; Gabriele, F.; Galbiati, C.; Garbini, M.; Garcia Abia, P.; Gendotti, A.; Ghiano, C.; Giampaolo, R. A.; Giganti, C.; Giorgi, M. A.; Giovanetti, G. K.; Goicoechea Casanueva, V.; Gola, A.; Graciani Diaz, R.; Grigoriev, G. Y.; Grobov, A.; Gromov, M.; Guan, M.; Guerzoni, M.; Gulino, M.; Guo, C.; Hackett, B. R.; Hallin, A.; Haranczyk, M.; Hill, S.; Horikawa, S.; Hubaut, F.; Hugues, T.; Hungerford, E. V.; Ianni, A.; Ippolito, V.; James, C. C.; Jillings, C.; Kachru, P.; Kemp, A. A.; Kendziora, C. L.; Keppel, G.; Khomyakov, A. V.; Kim, S.; Kish, A.; Kochanek, I.; Kondo, K.; Korga, G.; Kubankin, A.; Kugathasan, R.; Kuss, M.; Kuzniak, M.; La Commara, M.; Lai, M.; Langrock, S.; Leyton, M.; Li, X.; Lidey, L.; Lissia, M.; Longo, G.; Machulin, I. N.; Mapelli, L.; Marasciulli, A.; Margotti, A.; Mari, S. M.; Maricic, J.; Martinez, M.; Martinez Rojas, A. D.; Martoff, C. J.; Masoni, A.; Mazzi, A.; Mcdonald, A. B.; Mclaughlin, J.; Messina, A.; Meyers, P. D.; Miletic, T.; Milincic, R.; Moggi, A.; Moharana, A.; Moioli, S.; Monroe, J.; Morisi, S.; Morrocchi, M.; Mozhevitina, E. N.; Mroz, T.; Muratova, V. N.; Muscas, C.; Musenich, L.; Musico, P.; Nania, R.; Napolitano, T.; Navrer Agasson, A.; Nessi, M.; Nikulin, I.; Nowak, J.; Oleinik, A.; Oleynikov, V.; Pagani, L.; Pallavicini, M.; Pandola, L.; Pantic, E.; Paoloni, E.; Paternoster, G.; Pegoraro, P. A.; Pelczar, K.; Pellegrini, L. A.; Pellegrino, C.; Perotti, F.; Pesudo, V.; Picciau, E.; Pietropaolo, F.; Pira, C.; Pocar, A.; Poehlmann, D. M.; Pordes, S.; Poudel, S. S.; Pralavorio, P.; Price, D.; Raffaelli, F.; Ragusa, F.; Ramirez, A.; Razeti, M.; Razeto, A.; Renshaw, A. L.; Rescia, S.; Rescigno, M.; Resnati, F.; Retiere, F.; Rignanese, L. P.; Ripoli, C.; Rivetti, A.; Rode, J.; Romero, L.; Rossi, M.; Rubbia, A.; Salatino, P.; Samoylov, O.; Sanchez Garcia, E.; Sandford, E.; Sanfilippo, S.; Santone, D.; Santorelli, R.; Savarese, C.; Scapparone, E.; Schlitzer, B.; Scioli, G.; Semenov, D. A.; Shaw, B.; Shchagin, A.; Sheshukov, A.; Simeone, M.; Skensved, P.; Skorokhvatov, M. D.; Smirnov, O.; Smith, B.; Sokolov, A.; Steri, A.; Stracka, S.; Strickland, V.; Stringer, M.; Sulis, S.; Suvorov, Y.; Szelc, A. M.; Tartaglia, R.; Testera, G.; Thorpe, T. N.; Tonazzo, A.; Torres-Lara, S.; Tricomi, A.; Unzhakov, E. V.; Usai, G.; Vallivilayil John, T.; Viant, T.; Viel, S.; Vishneva, A.; Vogelaar, R. B.; Wada, M.; Wang, H.; Wang, Y.; Westerdale, S.; Wheadon, R. J.; Williams, L.; Wojcik, M. M.; Wojcik, M.; Xiao, X.; Yang, C.; Ye, Z.; Zani, A.; Zichichi, A.; Zuzel, G.; Zykova, M. P

Separating 39Ar from 40Ar by cryogenic distillation with Aria for dark-matter searches

Aria is a plant hosting a 350m cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is being installed in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. It was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of 39Ar in argon extracted from underground sources, called Underground Argon (UAr), which is used for dark-matter searches. Indeed, 39Ar is a \u3b2-emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors. In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of the isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant

A new hybrid gadolinium nanoparticles-loaded polymeric material for neutron detection in rare event searches

International audienceExperiments aimed at direct searches for WIMP dark matter require highly effective reduction of backgrounds and control of any residual radioactive contamination. In particular, neutrons interacting with atomic nuclei represent an important class of backgrounds due to the expected similarity of a WIMP-nucleon interaction, so that such experiments often feature a dedicated neutron detector surrounding the active target volume. In the context of the development of DarkSide-20k detector at INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), several R&D projects were conceived and developed for the creation of a new hybrid material rich in both hydrogen and gadolinium nuclei to be employed as an essential element of the neutron detector. Thanks to its very high cross-section for neutron capture, gadolinium is one of the most widely used elements in neutron detectors, while the hydrogen-rich material is instrumental in efficiently moderating the neutrons. In this paper results from one of the R&Ds are presented. In this effort the new hybrid material was obtained as a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix, loaded with gadolinium oxide in the form of nanoparticles. We describe its realization, including all phases of design, purification, construction, characterization, and determination of mechanical properties of the new material

Separating 39Ar{^{39}\hbox {Ar}} from 40Ar{^{40}\hbox {Ar}} by cryogenic distillation with Aria for dark-matter searches

International audienceAria is a plant hosting a ${350}\,\hbox {m}$ cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is being installed in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. It was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of ${^{39}\hbox {Ar}}$ in argon extracted from underground sources, called Underground Argon (UAr), which is used for dark-matter searches. Indeed, ${^{39}\hbox {Ar}}$ is a $\beta$-emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors. In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of the isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant

A new hybrid gadolinium nanoparticles-loaded polymeric material for neutron detection in rare event searches

International audienceExperiments aimed at direct searches for WIMP dark matter require highly effective reduction of backgrounds and control of any residual radioactive contamination. In particular, neutrons interacting with atomic nuclei represent an important class of backgrounds due to the expected similarity of a WIMP-nucleon interaction, so that such experiments often feature a dedicated neutron detector surrounding the active target volume. In the context of the development of DarkSide-20k detector at INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), several R&D projects were conceived and developed for the creation of a new hybrid material rich in both hydrogen and gadolinium nuclei to be employed as an essential element of the neutron detector. Thanks to its very high cross-section for neutron capture, gadolinium is one of the most widely used elements in neutron detectors, while the hydrogen-rich material is instrumental in efficiently moderating the neutrons. In this paper results from one of the R&Ds are presented. In this effort the new hybrid material was obtained as a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix, loaded with gadolinium oxide in the form of nanoparticles. We describe its realization, including all phases of design, purification, construction, characterization, and determination of mechanical properties of the new material