48 research outputs found
First measurement of low intensity fast neutron background from rock at the Boulby Underground Laboratory
A technique to measure low intensity fast neutron flux has been developed.
The design, calibrations, procedure for data analysis and interpretation of the
results are discussed in detail. The technique has been applied to measure the
neutron background from rock at the Boulby Underground Laboratory, a site used
for dark matter and other experiments, requiring shielding from cosmic ray
muons. The experiment was performed using a liquid scintillation detector. A
6.1 litre volume stainless steel cell was filled with an in-house made liquid
scintillator loaded with Gd to enhance neutron capture. A two-pulse signature
(proton recoils followed by gammas from neutron capture) was used to identify
the neutron events from much larger gamma background from PMTs. Suppression of
gammas from the rock was achieved by surrounding the detector with high-purity
lead and copper. Calibrations of the detector were performed with various gamma
and neutron sources. Special care was taken to eliminate PMT afterpulses and
correlated background events from the delayed coincidences of two pulses in the
Bi-Po decay chain. A four month run revealed a neutron-induced event rate of
1.84 +- 0.65 (stat.) events/day. Monte Carlo simulations based on the GEANT4
toolkit were carried out to estimate the efficiency of the detector and the
energy spectra of the expected proton recoils. From comparison of the measured
rate with Monte Carlo simulations the flux of fast neutrons from rock was
estimated as (1.72 +- 0.61 (stat.) +- 0.38 (syst.))*10^(-6) cm^(-2) s^(-1)
above 0.5 MeV.Comment: 37 pages, 24 figures, to be published in Astroparticle Physic
Reduction of Coincident Photomultiplier Noise Relevant to Astroparticle Physics Experiment
In low background and low threshold particle astrophysics experiments using
observation of Cherenkov or scintillation light it is common to use pairs or
arrays of photomultipliers operated in coincidence. In such circumstances, for
instance in dark matter and neutrino experiments, unexpected PMT noise events
have been observed, probably arising from generation of light from one PMT
being detected by one or more other PMTs. We describe here experimental
investigation of such coincident noise events and development of new techniques
to remove them using novel pulse shape discrimination procedures. When applied
to data from a low background NaI detector with facing PMTs the new procedures
are found to improve noise rejection by a factor of 20 over conventional
techniques, with significantly reduced loss of signal events.Comment: Submitted to NIM
Study of infrared scintillations in gaseous and liquid argon - Part I: methodology and time measurements
A methodology to measure Near Infrared (NIR) scintillations in gaseous and
liquid Ar, using Geiger-mode APDs (GAPDs) sensitive in the NIR and pulsed X-ray
irradiation, is described. This study has been triggered by the development of
Cryogenic Avalanche Detectors (CRADs) with optical readout in the NIR using
combined THGEM/GAPD multiplier, which may come to be in demand in coherent
neutrino-nucleus scattering and dark matter search experiments. A new approach
to measure the NIR scintillation yield at cryogenic temperatures has been
developed, namely using GAPDs in single photoelectron counting mode with time
resolution. The time structure of NIR scintillations and their light yield were
measured both for primary scintillations and that of secondary at moderate
electric fields (electroluminescence), in gaseous and liquid Ar.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to JINS
Direct observation of avalanche scintillations in a THGEM-based two-phase Ar avalanche detector using Geiger-mode APD
A novel concept of optical signal recording in two-phase avalanche detectors,
with Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiodes (G-APD) is described.
Avalanche-scintillation photons were measured in a thick Gas Electron
Multiplier (THGEM) in view of potential applications in rare-event experiments.
The effective detection of avalanche scintillations in THGEM holes has been
demonstrated in two-phase Ar with a bare G-APD without wavelength shifter, i.e.
insensitive to VUV emission of Ar. At gas-avalanche gain of 400 and under \pm
70^\circ viewing-angle, the G-APD yielded 640 photoelectrons (pe) per 60 keV
X-ray converted in liquid Ar; this corresponds to 0.7 pe per initial (prior to
multiplication) electron. The avalanche-scintillation light yield measured by
the G-APD was about 0.7 pe per avalanche electron, extrapolated to 4pi
acceptance. The avalanche scintillations observed occurred presumably in the
near infrared (NIR) where G-APDs may have high sensitivity. The measured
scintillation yield is similar to that observed by others in the VUV. Other
related topics discussed in this work are the G-APD's single-pixel and
quenching resistor characteristics at cryogenic temperatures.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures. Submitted to JINS
CsI(Tl) for WIMP dark matter searches
We report a study of CsI(Tl) scintillator to assess its applicability in
experiments to search for dark matter particles. Measurements of the mean
scintillation pulse shapes due to nuclear and electron recoils have been
performed. We find that, as with NaI(Tl), pulse shape analysis can be used to
discriminate between electron and nuclear recoils down to 4 keV. However, the
discrimination factor is typically (10-15)% better than in NaI(Tl) above 4 keV.
The quenching factor for caesium and iodine recoils was measured and found to
increase from 11% to ~17% with decreasing recoil energy from 60 to 12 keV.
Based on these results, the potential sensitivity of CsI(Tl) to dark matter
particles in the form of neutralinos was calculated. We find an improvement
over NaI(Tl) for the spin independent WIMP-nucleon interactions up to a factor
of 5 assuming comparable electron background levels in the two scintillators.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Nucl. Instrum. and Meth. in
Phys. Res.
Scintillation and charge extraction from the tracks of energetic electrons in superfluid helium-4
An energetic electron passing through liquid helium causes ionization along
its track. The ionized electrons quickly recombine with the resulting positive
ions, which leads to the production of prompt scintillation light. By applying
appropriate electric fields, some of the ionized electrons can be separated
from their parent ions. The fraction of the ionized electrons extracted in a
given applied field depends on the separation distance between the electrons
and the ions. We report the determination of the mean electron-ion separation
distance for charge pairs produced along the tracks of beta particles in
superfluid helium at 1.5 K by studying the quenching of the scintillation light
under applied electric fields. Knowledge of this mean separation parameter will
aid in the design of particle detectors that use superfluid helium as a target
material.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Micromegas operation in high pressure xenon: charge and scintillation readout
The operational characteristics of a Micromegas operating in pure xenon at
the pressure range of 1 to 10 bar are investigated. The maximum charge gain
achieved in each pressure is approximately constant, around 4x10^2, for xenon
pressures up to 5 bar and decreasing slowly above this pressure down to values
somewhat above 10^2 at 10 bar. The MM presents the highest gains for xenon
pressures above 4 bar, when compared to other micropattern gaseous multipliers.
The lowest energy resolution obtained for X-rays of 22.1 keV exhibits a steady
increase with pressure, from 12% at 1bar to about 32% at 10 bar. The effective
scintillation yield, defined as the number of photons exiting through the MM
mesh holes per primary electron produced in the conversion region was
calculated. This yield is about 2x10^2 photons per primary electron at 1 bar,
increasing to about 6x10^2 at 5 bar and, then, decreasing again to 2x10^2 at 10
bar. The readout of this scintillation by a suitable photosensor will result in
higher gains but with increased statistical fluctuations.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure
A two-phase argon avalanche detector operated in a single electron counting mode
The performance of a two-phase Ar avalanche detector in a single electron
counting mode was studied, with regard to potential application in coherent
neutrino-nucleus scattering and dark matter search experiments. The detector
comprised of a 1 cm thick liquid Ar layer and a triple-GEM multiplier operated
in the saturated vapour above the liquid phase. Successful operation of the
detector in single electron counting mode, in the gain range from 6000 to
40000, has for the first time been demonstrated.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to JINS
On the low-temperature performances of THGEM and THGEM/G-APD multipliers in gaseous and two-phase Xe
The performances of THGEM multipliers in two-phase Xe avalanche mode are
presented for the first time. Additional results on THGEM operation in gaseous
Xe at cryogenic temperatures are provided. Stable operation of a double-THGEM
multiplier was demonstrated in two-phase Xe with gains reaching 600. These are
compared to existing data, summarized here for two-phase Ar, Kr and Xe
avalanche detectors incorporating GEM and THGEM multipliers. The optical
readout of THGEMs with Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiodes (G-APDs) has been
investigated in gaseous Xe at cryogenic temperature; avalanche scintillations
were recorded in the Near Infrared (NIR) at wavelengths of up to 950 nm. At
avalanche charge gain of 350, the double-THGEM/G-APD multiplier yielded 0.07
photoelectrons per initial ionization electron, corresponding to an avalanche
scintillation yield of 0.7 NIR photons per avalanche electron over 4pi. The
results are compared with those of two-phase Ar avalanche detectors. The
advantages, limitations and possible applications are discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures. Revised Figs. 10,11 and Table 1. To be
published in JINS
Simulations of neutron background in a time projection chamber relevant to dark matter searches
Presented here are results of simulations of neutron background performed for
a time projection chamber acting as a particle dark matter detector in an
underground laboratory. The investigated background includes neutrons from rock
and detector components, generated via spontaneous fission and (alpha, n)
reactions, as well as those due to cosmic-ray muons. Neutrons were propagated
to the sensitive volume of the detector and the nuclear recoil spectra were
calculated. Methods of neutron background suppression were also examined and
limitations to the sensitivity of a gaseous dark matter detector are discussed.
Results indicate that neutrons should not limit sensitivity to WIMP-nucleon
interactions down to a level of (1 - 3) x 10^{-8} pb in a 10 kg detector.Comment: 27 pages (total, including 3 tables and 11 figures). Accepted for
publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research - Section