40 research outputs found
Design and operation of a cryogenic charge-integrating preamplifier for the MuSun experiment
The central detector in the MuSun experiment is a pad-plane time projection
ionization chamber that operates without gas amplification in deuterium at 31
K; it is used to measure the rate of the muon capture process . A new charge-sensitive preamplifier, operated at
140 K, has been developed for this detector. It achieved a resolution of 4.5
keV(D) or 120 RMS with zero detector capacitance at 1.1 s
integration time in laboratory tests. In the experimental environment, the
electronic resolution is 10 keV(D) or 250 RMS at a 0.5 s
integration time. The excellent energy resolution of this amplifier has enabled
discrimination between signals from muon-catalyzed fusion and muon capture on
chemical impurities, which will precisely determine systematic corrections due
to these processes. It is also expected to improve the muon tracking and
determination of the stopping location.Comment: 18 pages + title page, 13 figures, to be submitted to JINST; minor
corrections, added one reference, updated author lis
Experimental constraints on a dark matter origin for the DAMA annual modulation effect
A claim for evidence of dark matter interactions in the DAMA experiment has
been recently reinforced. We employ a new type of germanium detector to
conclusively rule out a standard isothermal galactic halo of Weakly Interacting
Massive Particles (WIMPs) as the explanation for the annual modulation effect
leading to the claim. Bounds are similarly imposed on a suggestion that dark
pseudoscalars mightlead to the effect. We describe the sensitivity to light
dark matter particles achievable with our device, in particular to
Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model candidates.Comment: v4: introduces recent results from arXiv:0807.3279 and
arXiv:0807.2926. Sensitivity to pseudoscalars is revised in light of the
first. Discussion on the subject adde
Results from a Search for Light-Mass Dark Matter with a P-type Point Contact Germanium Detector
We report on several features present in the energy spectrum from an ultra
low-noise germanium detector operated at 2,100 m.w.e. By implementing a new
technique able to reject surface events, a number of cosmogenic peaks can be
observed for the first time. We discuss several possible causes for an
irreducible excess of bulk-like events below 3 keVee, including a dark matter
candidate common to the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation effect, the hint of a
signal in CDMS, and phenomenological predictions. Improved constraints are
placed on a cosmological origin for the DAMA/LIBRA effect.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. v2: submitted version. Minimal changes in
wording, one reference adde
The Majorana Project
Building a \BBz experiment with the ability to probe neutrino mass in the
inverted hierarchy region requires the combination of a large detector mass
sensitive to \BBz, on the order of 1-tonne, and unprecedented background
levels, on the order of or less than 1 count per year in the \BBz signal
region. The MAJORANA Collaboration proposes a design based on using high-purity
enriched Ge-76 crystals deployed in ultra-low background electroformed Cu
cryostats and using modern analysis techniques that should be capable of
reaching the required sensitivity while also being scalable to a 1-tonne size.
To demonstrate feasibility, the collaboration plans to construct a prototype
system, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, consisting of 30 kg of 86% enriched \Ge-76
detectors and 30 kg of natural or isotope-76-depleted Ge detectors. We plan to
deploy and evaluate two different Ge detector technologies, one based on a
p-type configuration and the other on n-type.Comment: paper submitted for the 2008 Carolina International Symposium on
Neutrino Physic
A Monte Carlo simulation of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory proportional counters
The third phase of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment added an
array of 3He proportional counters to the detector. The purpose of this Neutral
Current Detection (NCD) array was to observe neutrons resulting from
neutral-current solar neutrino-deuteron interactions. We have developed a
detailed simulation of the current pulses from the NCD array proportional
counters, from the primary neutron capture on 3He through the NCD array
signal-processing electronics. This NCD array Monte Carlo simulation was used
to model the alpha-decay background in SNO's third-phase 8B solar-neutrino
measurement.Comment: 38 pages; submitted to the New Journal of Physic
Independent measurement of the total active B8 solar neutrino flux using an array of He3 proportional counters at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) used an array of 3He proportional counters to measure the rate of neutral-current interactions in heavy water and precisely determined the total active (νx) 8B solar neutrino flux. This technique is independent of previous methods employed by SNO. The total flux is found to be 5.54-0.31+0.33(stat)-0.34+0.36(syst)×106 cm-2 s-1, in agreement with previous measurements and standard solar models. A global analysis of solar and reactor neutrino results yields Δm2=7.59-0.21+0.19×10-5 eV2 and θ=34.4-1.2+1.3 degrees. The uncertainty on the mixing angle has been reduced from SNO’s previous results
Studies of an array of PbF2 Cherenkov crystals with large-area SiPM readout
The electromagnetic calorimeter for the new muon (g-2) experiment at Fermilab
will consist of arrays of PbF2 Cherenkov crystals read out by large-area
silicon photo-multiplier (SiPM) sensors. We report here on measurements and
simulations using 2.0 -- 4.5 GeV electrons with a 28-element prototype array.
All data were obtained using fast waveform digitizers to accurately capture
signal pulse shapes versus energy, impact position, angle, and crystal
wrapping. The SiPMs were gain matched using a laser-based calibration system,
which also provided a stabilization procedure that allowed gain correction to a
level of 1e-4 per hour. After accounting for longitudinal fluctuation losses,
those crystals wrapped in a white, diffusive wrapping exhibited an energy
resolution sigma/E of (3.4 +- 0.1) % per sqrt(E/GeV), while those wrapped in a
black, absorptive wrapping had (4.6 +- 0.3) % per sqrt(E/GeV). The
white-wrapped crystals---having nearly twice the total light
collection---display a generally wider and impact-position-dependent pulse
shape owing to the dynamics of the light propagation, in comparison to the
black-wrapped crystals, which have a narrower pulse shape that is insensitive
to impact position.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figures, accepted to Nucl.Instrum.Meth. A. In v2, edited
Figures 14,15, and 17 for clarity, improved explanation of energy resolution
systematics, added reference to SiP