19 research outputs found
Search for axioelectric effect of 5.5 MeV solar axions using BGO detectors
A search for axioelectric absorption of solar axions produced in the reactions has been performed
with a BGO detector placed in a low-background setup. A model-independent limit
on an axion-nucleon and axion-electron coupling constant has been obtained: for 90% confidence level. The
constrains of the axion-electron coupling have been obtained for hadronic axion
with masses in (0.1 - 1) MeV range: .Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in EPJ C. arXiv admin note:
substantial text overlap with arXiv:1007.338
Search for solar axions produced by Compton process and bremsstrahlung using the resonant absorption and axioelectric effect
The search for resonant absorption of Compton and bremsstrahlung solar axions
by Tm nuclei have been performed. Such an absorption should lead to the
excitation of low-lying nuclear energy level: Tm Tm Tm (8.41 keV). Additionally the
axio-electric effect in silicon atoms is sought. The axions are detected using
a Si(Li) detectors placed in a low-background setup. As a result, a new model
independent restrictions on the axion-electron and the axion-nucleon coupling:
and the axion-electron
coupling constant: has been obtained. The
limits leads to the bounds 7.9 eV and 1.3 keV for the
mass of the axion in the DFSZ and KSVZ models, respectively ( C.L.).Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, contributed to the 9th Patras Workshop on Axions,
WIMPs and WISPs, Mainz, June 24-28, 201
Searches for axioelectric effect of solar axions with BGO-scintillator and BGO-bolometer detectors
A search for axioelectric absorption of 5.5 MeV solar axions produced in the
reaction has been
performed with a BGO detectors. A model-independent limit on the product of
axion-nucleon and axion-electron coupling constants has
been obtained: for 90\% C.L..Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the 10th Patras Workshop on
Axions, WIMPs and WISP 29 June - 4 July 2014, CERN, Geneva, Switzerlan
The IAXO Helioscope
The IAXO (International Axion Experiment) is a fourth generation helioscope with a sensitivity, in terms of detectable signal counts, at least 104 better than CAST phase-I, resulting in sensitivity on ga¿ one order of magnitude better. To achieve this performance IAXO will count on a 8-coil toroidal magnet with 60 cm diameter bores and equipped with X-ray focusing optics into 0.20 cm2 spots coupled to ultra-low background Micromegas X-ray detectors. The magnet will be on a platform that will allow solar tracking for 12 hours per day. The next short term objectives are to prepare a Technical Design Report and to construct the first prototypes of the hardware main ingredients: demonstration coil, X-ray optics and low background detector while refining the physics case and studying the feasibility studies for Dark Matter axions
The Next Generation of Axion Helioscopes: The International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a proposed 4th-generation axion helioscope with the primary physics research goal to search for solar axions via their Primakoff conversion into photons of 1 \u2013 10 keV energies in a strong magnetic field. IAXO will achieve a sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling ga\u3b3 down to a few
710 1212 GeV 121 for a wide range of axion masses up to 3c 0.25 eV. This is an improvement over the currently best (3rd generation) axion helioscope, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST), of about 5 orders of magnitude in signal strength, corresponding to a factor 3c 20 in the axion photon coupling. IAXO's sensitivity relies on the construction of a large superconducting 8-coil toroidal magnet of 20 m length optimized for axion research. Each of the eight 60 cm diameter magnet bores is equipped with x-ray optics focusing the signal photons into 3c 0.2 cm2 spots that are imaged by very low background x-ray detectors. The magnet will be built into a structure with elevation and azimuth drives that will allow solar tracking for 12 hours each day. This contribution is a summary of our papers [1], [2] and [3] and we refer to these for further details
Conceptual design of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) will be a forth generation axion
helioscope. As its primary physics goal, IAXO will look for axions or
axion-like particles (ALPs) originating in the Sun via the Primakoff conversion
of the solar plasma photons. In terms of signal-to-noise ratio, IAXO will be
about 4-5 orders of magnitude more sensitive than CAST, currently the most
powerful axion helioscope, reaching sensitivity to axion-photon couplings down
to a few GeV and thus probing a large fraction of the
currently unexplored axion and ALP parameter space. IAXO will also be sensitive
to solar axions produced by mechanisms mediated by the axion-electron coupling
with sensitivity for the first time to values of not
previously excluded by astrophysics. With several other possible physics cases,
IAXO has the potential to serve as a multi-purpose facility for generic axion
and ALP research in the next decade. In this paper we present the conceptual
design of IAXO, which follows the layout of an enhanced axion helioscope, based
on a purpose-built 20m-long 8-coils toroidal superconducting magnet. All the
eight 60cm-diameter magnet bores are equipped with focusing x-ray optics, able
to focus the signal photons into cm spots that are imaged by
ultra-low-background Micromegas x-ray detectors. The magnet is built into a
structure with elevation and azimuth drives that will allow for solar tracking
for 12 h each day.Comment: 47 pages, submitted to JINS
Physics potential of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
We review the physics potential of a next generation search for solar axions:the International Axion Observatory (IAXO). Endowed with a sensitivity todiscover axion-like particles (ALPs) with a coupling to photons as small as GeV, or to electrons 10,IAXO has the potential to find the QCD axion in the 1 meV1 eV mass rangewhere it solves the strong CP problem, can account for the cold dark matter ofthe Universe and be responsible for the anomalous cooling observed in a numberof stellar systems. At the same time, IAXO will have enough sensitivity todetect lower mass axions invoked to explain: 1) the origin of the anomalous"transparency" of the Universe to gamma-rays, 2) the observed soft X-ray excessfrom galaxy clusters or 3) some inflationary models. In addition, we reviewstring theory axions with parameters accessible by IAXO and discuss theirpotential role in cosmology as Dark Matter and Dark Radiation as well as theirconnections to the above mentioned conundrums
Light Yield in DarkSide-10: a Prototype Two-phase Liquid Argon TPC for Dark Matter Searches
As part of the DarkSide program of direct dark matter searches using liquid
argon TPCs, a prototype detector with an active volume containing 10 kg of
liquid argon, DarkSide-10, was built and operated underground in the Gran Sasso
National Laboratory in Italy. A critically important parameter for such devices
is the scintillation light yield, as photon statistics limits the rejection of
electron-recoil backgrounds by pulse shape discrimination. We have measured the
light yield of DarkSide-10 using the readily-identifiable full-absorption peaks
from gamma ray sources combined with single-photoelectron calibrations using
low-occupancy laser pulses. For gamma lines of energies in the range 122-1275
keV, we get consistent light yields averaging 8.887+-0.003(stat)+-0.444(sys)
p.e./keVee. With additional purification, the light yield measured at 511 keV
increased to 9.142+-0.006(stat) p.e./keVee.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
An update on the Axion Helioscopes front: current activities at CAST and the IAXO project
Although they have not yet been detected, axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) continue to maintain the interest (even increasingly so) of the rare-event searches community as viable candidates for the Dark Matter of the Universe but also as a solution for several other puzzles of astrophysics. Their property of coupling to photons has inspired different experimental methods for their detection, one of which is the helioscope technique. The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is the most sensitive helioscope built up to date and has recently published part of the latest data taken with the magnet bores gradually filled with 3He, probing the mass range up to 1.17 eV. The International AXion Observatory (IAXO) is being proposed as a facility where different axion studies can be performed, with the primary goal to study axions coming from the Sun. Designed to maximize sensitivity, it will improve the levels reached by CAST by almost 5 orders of magnitude in signal detection, that is more than one order of magnitude in terms of gaγ. Here we will summarize the most important aspects of the helioscopes, and focus mainly on IAXO, based on the recent papers [1, 2]
DarkSide search for dark matter
The DarkSide staged program utilizes a two-phase time projection chamber (TPC) with liquid argon as the target material for the scattering of dark matter particles. Efficient background reduction is achieved using low radioactivity underground argon as well as several experimental handles such as pulse shape, ratio of ionization over scintillation signal, 3D event reconstruction, and active neutron and muon vetos. The DarkSide-10 prototype detector has proven high scintillation light yield, which is a particularly important parameter as it sets the energy threshold for the pulse shape discrimination technique. The DarkSide-50 detector system, currently in commissioning phase at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory, will reach a sensitivity to dark matter spin-independent scattering cross section of 10 cm within 3 years of operation