338 research outputs found
Towards a liquid Argon TPC without evacuation: filling of a 6 m^3 vessel with argon gas from air to ppm impurities concentration through flushing
In this paper we present a successful experimental test of filling a volume
of 6 m with argon gas, starting from normal ambient air and reducing the
impurities content down to few parts per million (ppm) oxygen equivalent. This
level of contamination was directly monitored measuring the slow component of
the scintillation light of the Ar gas, which is sensitive to {\it all} sources
of impurities affecting directly the argon scintillation.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Proc. 1st International Workshop
towards the Giant Liquid Argon Charge Imaging Experiment (GLA2010), Tsukuba,
March 201
ARIADNE - A novel optical LArTPC: technical design report and initial characterisation using a secondary beam from the CERN PS and cosmic muons
ARIADNE is a 1-ton (330 kg fiducial mass) dual-phase liquid argon (LAr) time
projection chamber (TPC) featuring a novel optical readout. Four
electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) cameras are mounted
externally, and these capture the secondary scintillation light produced in the
holes of a thick electron gas multiplier (THGEM). Track reconstruction using
this novel readout approach is demonstrated. Optical readout has the potential
to be a cost effective alternative to charge readout in future LArTPCs. In this
paper, the technical design of the detector is detailed. Results of mixed
particle detection using a secondary beam from the CERN PS (representing the
first ever optical images of argon interactions in a dual-phase LArTPC at a
beamline) and cosmic muon detection at the University of Liverpool are also
presented.Comment: 58 pages, 40 figures. Changes from previous version based on
pre-publication review: improved quality of various figures, improved clarity
of some definitions and reduced longer sentences for better readability,
fixed typos and formatting error
First Demonstration of the Use of LG-SiPMs for Optical Readout of a TPC
This paper describes a new method for optical readout of Time Projection
Chambers (TPCs), based on the Linearly Graded Silicon Photomultiplier
(LG-SiPM). This is a single photon-sensitive detector with excellent timing and
2D position resolution developed at Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento (FBK). The
LG-SiPM produces time-varying voltage signals that are used to reconstruct the
3D position and energy of ionisation tracks generated inside the TPC. The TPC
used in this work contained room-temperature CF gas at a pressure of 100
mbar, with two THGEMs to produce secondary scintillation light. A collimated
Am source (Q = 5.486 MeV) was used to produce the ionisation
tracks. The successful reconstruction of these tracks is demonstrated, and the
consistency of the methodology characterised through varying the geometry of
the tracks within the TPC. Energy reconstruction and deposition studies are
also described, demonstrating the feasibility of the LG-SiPM as a potential
option for optical TPC readout.Comment: Various changes from previous version based on pre-publication revie
Argon Purification Studies and a Novel Liquid Argon Re-circulation System
Future giant liquid argon (LAr) time projection chambers (TPCs) require a
purity of better than 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) to allow the ionised
electrons to drift without significant capture by any electronegative
impurities. We present a comprehensive study of the effects of electronegative
impurity on gaseous and liquid argon scintillation light, an analysis of the
efficacy of various purification chemicals, as well as the Liverpool LAr setup,
which utilises a novel re-circulation purification system. Of the impurities
tested - Air, O_2, H_2O, N_2 and CO_2 in the range of between 0.01 ppm to 1000
ppm - H_2O was found to have the most profound effect on gaseous argon
scintillation light, and N_2 was found to have the least. Additionally, a
correlation between the slow component decay time and the total energy
deposited with 0.01 ppm - 100 ppm O_2 contamination levels in liquid argon has
been established. The superiority of molecular sieves over anhydrous complexes
at absorbing Ar gas, N_2 gas and H_2O vapour has been quantified using BET
isotherm analysis. The efficiency of Cu and P_2O5 at removing O_2 and H_2O
impurities from 1 bar N6 argon gas at both room temperature and -130 ^oC was
investigated and found to be high. A novel, highly scalable LAr re-circulation
system has been developed. The complete system, consisting of a motorised
bellows pump operating in liquid and a purification cartridge, were designed
and built in-house. The system was operated successfully over many days and
achieved a re-circulation rate of 27 litres/hour and high purity
The ZEPLIN II dark matter detector: data acquisition system and data reduction
ZEPLIN-II is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon dark matter detector searching
for WIMP-nucleon interactions. In this paper we describe the data acquisition
system used to record the data from ZEPLIN-II and the reduction procedures
which parameterise the data for subsequent analysis.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
The ArDM experiment
The aim of the ArDM project is the development and operation of a one ton
double-phase liquid argon detector for direct Dark Matter searches. The
detector measures both the scintillation light and the ionization charge from
ionizing radiation using two independent readout systems. This paper briefly
describes the detector concept and presents preliminary results from the ArDM
R&D program, including a 3 l prototype developed to test the charge readout
system.Comment: Proceedings of the Epiphany 2010 Conference, to be published in Acta
Physica Polonica
The ZEPLIN II dark matter detector: data acquisition system and data reduction
ZEPLIN-II is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon dark matter detector searching
for WIMP-nucleon interactions. In this paper we describe the data acquisition
system used to record the data from ZEPLIN-II and the reduction procedures
which parameterise the data for subsequent analysis.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
First results on light readout from the 1-ton ArDM liquid argon detector for dark matter searches
ArDM-1t is the prototype for a next generation WIMP detector measuring both
the scintillation light and the ionization charge from nuclear recoils in a
1-ton liquid argon target. The goal is to reach a minimum recoil energy of
30\,keVr to detect recoiling nuclei. In this paper we describe the experimental
concept and present results on the light detection system, tested for the first
time in ArDM on the surface at CERN. With a preliminary and incomplete set of
PMTs, the light yield at zero electric field is found to be between 0.3-0.5
phe/keVee depending on the position within the detector volume, confirming our
expectations based on smaller detector setups.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, v2 accepted for publication in JINS
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