1,807 research outputs found
Study of Scintillator Strip with Wavelength Shifting Fiber and Silicon Photomultiplier
The performance of the cm plastic scintillator
strip with wavelength shifting fiber read-out by two novel photodetectors
called Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPMs) is discussed. The advantages of SiPM
relative to the traditional multichannel photomultiplier are shown. Light yield
and light attenuation measurements are presented. This technique can be used in
muon or calorimeter systems.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Direct WIMP identification: Physics performance of a segmented noble-liquid target immersed in a Gd-doped water veto
We evaluate background rejection capabilities and physics performance of a
detector composed of two diverse elements: a sensitive target (filled with one
or two species of liquefied noble gasses) and an active veto (made of Gd-doped
ultra-pure water). A GEANT4 simulation shows that for a direct WIMP search,
this device can reduce the neutron background to O(1) event per year per tonne
of material. Our calculation shows that an exposure of one tonne year
will suffice to exclude spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross sections ranging
from pb to pb.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Version accepted for publication in JCA
A High-resolution Scintillating Fiber Tracker With Silicon Photomultiplier Array Readout
We present prototype modules for a tracking detector consisting of multiple
layers of 0.25 mm diameter scintillating fibers that are read out by linear
arrays of silicon photomultipliers. The module production process is described
and measurements of the key properties for both the fibers and the readout
devices are shown. Five modules have been subjected to a 12 GeV/c proton/pion
testbeam at CERN. A spatial resolution of 0.05 mm and light yields exceeding 20
detected photons per minimum ionizing particle have been achieved, at a
tracking efficiency of more than 98.5%. Possible techniques for further
improvement of the spatial resolution are discussed.Comment: 31 pages, 27 figures, pre-print version of an article published in
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 62
Results from the First Science Run of the ZEPLIN-III Dark Matter Search Experiment
The ZEPLIN-III experiment in the Palmer Underground Laboratory at Boulby uses
a 12kg two-phase xenon time projection chamber to search for the weakly
interacting massive particles (WIMPs) that may account for the dark matter of
our Galaxy. The detector measures both scintillation and ionisation produced by
radiation interacting in the liquid to differentiate between the nuclear
recoils expected from WIMPs and the electron recoil background signals down to
~10keV nuclear recoil energy. An analysis of 847kg.days of data acquired
between February 27th 2008 and May 20th 2008 has excluded a WIMP-nucleon
elastic scattering spin-independent cross-section above 8.1x10(-8)pb at
55GeV/c2 with a 90% confidence limit. It has also demonstrated that the
two-phase xenon technique is capable of better discrimination between electron
and nuclear recoils at low-energy than previously achieved by other xenon-based
experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figure
Position Reconstruction in Drift Chambers operated with Xe, CO2 (15%)
We present measurements of position and angular resolution of drift chambers
operated with a Xe,CO(15%) mixture. The results are compared to Monte Carlo
simulations and important systematic effects, in particular the dispersive
nature of the absorption of transition radiation and non-linearities, are
discussed. The measurements were carried out with prototype drift chambers of
the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector, but our findings can be generalized to
other drift chambers with similar geometry, where the electron drift is
perpendicular to the wire planes.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figure
Measurement of single electron emission in two-phase xenon
We present the first measurements of the electroluminescence response to the
emission of single electrons in a two-phase noble gas detector. Single
ionization electrons generated in liquid xenon are detected in a thin gas layer
during the 31-day background run of the ZEPLIN-II experiment, a two-phase xenon
detector for WIMP dark matter searches. Both the pressure dependence and
magnitude of the single-electron response are in agreement with previous
measurements of electroluminescence yield in xenon. We discuss different
photoionization processes as possible cause for the sample of single electrons
studied in this work. This observation may have implications for the design and
operation of future large-scale two-phase systems.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Transition Radiation Spectra of Electrons from 1 to 10 GeV/c in Regular and Irregular Radiators
We present measurements of the spectral distribution of transition radiation
generated by electrons of momentum 1 to 10 GeV/c in different radiator types.
We investigate periodic foil radiators and irregular foam and fiber materials.
The transition radiation photons are detected by prototypes of the drift
chambers to be used in the Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) of the ALICE
experiment at CERN, which are filled with a Xe, CO2 (15 %) mixture. The
measurements are compared to simulations in order to enhance the quantitative
understanding of transition radiation production, in particular the momentum
dependence of the transition radiation yield.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res.
Single electron emission in two-phase xenon with application to the detection of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering
We present an experimental study of single electron emission in ZEPLIN-III, a
two-phase xenon experiment built to search for dark matter WIMPs, and discuss
applications enabled by the excellent signal-to-noise ratio achieved in
detecting this signature. Firstly, we demonstrate a practical method for
precise measurement of the free electron lifetime in liquid xenon during normal
operation of these detectors. Then, using a realistic detector response model
and backgrounds, we assess the feasibility of deploying such an instrument for
measuring coherent neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering using the ionisation
channel in the few-electron regime. We conclude that it should be possible to
measure this elusive neutrino signature above an ionisation threshold of
3 electrons both at a stopped pion source and at a nuclear reactor.
Detectable signal rates are larger in the reactor case, but the triggered
measurement and harder recoil energy spectrum afforded by the accelerator
source enable lower overall background and fiducialisation of the active
volume
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