We perform a blind search for particle signals in the XENON1T dark matter detector that occur close in time to gravitational-wave signals in the LIGO and Virgo observatories. No particle signal is ...observed in the nuclear recoil and electronic recoil channels within ±500 seconds of observations of the gravitational-wave signals GW170104, GW170729, GW170817, GW170818, and GW170823. We use this null result to constrain monoenergetic neutrinos and axion-like particles emitted in the closest coalescence GW170817, a binary neutron star merger. We set new upper limits on the fluence (time-integrated flux) of coincident neutrinos down to 17 keV at the 90% confidence level. Furthermore, we constrain the product of the coincident fluence and cross section of axion-like particles to be less than 10 −29 cm 2 /cm 2 in the 5.5–210 keV energy range at the 90% confidence level.
Xenon dual-phase time projections chambers (TPCs) have proven to be a successful technology in studying physical phenomena that require low-background conditions. With
40
t
of liquid xenon (LXe) in ...the TPC baseline design, DARWIN will have a high sensitivity for the detection of particle dark matter, neutrinoless double beta decay (
0
ν
β
β
), and axion-like particles (ALPs). Although cosmic muons are a source of background that cannot be entirely eliminated, they may be greatly diminished by placing the detector deep underground. In this study, we used Monte Carlo simulations to model the cosmogenic background expected for the DARWIN observatory at four underground laboratories: Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM) and SNOLAB. We present here the results of simulations performed to determine the production rate of
137
Xe, the most crucial isotope in the search for
0
ν
β
β
of
136
Xe. Additionally, we explore the contribution that other muon-induced spallation products, such as other unstable xenon isotopes and tritium, may have on the cosmogenic background.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The precision in reconstructing events detected in a dual-phase time projection chamber depends on an homogeneous and well understood electric field within the liquid target. In the XENONnT TPC the ...field homogeneity is achieved through a double-array field cage, consisting of two nested arrays of field shaping rings connected by an easily accessible resistor chain. Rather than being connected to the gate electrode, the topmost field shaping ring is independently biased, adding a degree of freedom to tune the electric field during operation. Two-dimensional finite element simulations were used to optimize the field cage, as well as its operation. Simulation results were compared to
83
m
Kr
calibration data. This comparison indicates an accumulation of charge on the panels of the TPC which is constant over time, as no evolution of the reconstructed position distribution of events is observed. The simulated electric field was then used to correct the charge signal for the field dependence of the charge yield. This correction resolves the inconsistent measurement of the drift electron lifetime when using different calibrations sources and different field cage tuning voltages.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A low-energy electronic recoil calibration of XENON1T, a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber, with an internal
37
Ar source was performed. This calibration source features a 35-day half-life and ...provides two mono-energetic lines at 2.82 keV and 0.27 keV. The photon yield and electron yield at 2.82 keV are measured to be (
32.3
±
0.3
) photons/keV and (
40.6
±
0.5
) electrons/keV, respectively, in agreement with other measurements and with NEST predictions. The electron yield at 0.27 keV is also measured and it is (
68
.
0
-
3.7
+
6.3
) electrons/keV. The
37
Ar calibration confirms that the detector is well-understood in the energy region close to the detection threshold, with the 2.82 keV line reconstructed at (
2.83
±
0.02
) keV, which further validates the model used to interpret the low-energy electronic recoil excess previously reported by XENON1T. The ability to efficiently remove argon with cryogenic distillation after the calibration proves that
37
Ar can be considered as a regular calibration source for multi-tonne xenon detectors.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The XENON collaboration has published stringent limits on specific dark matter – nucleon recoil spectra from dark matter recoiling on the liquid xenon detector target. In this paper, we present an ...approximate likelihood for the XENON1T 1 t-year nuclear recoil search applicable to any nuclear recoil spectrum. Alongside this paper, we publish data and code to compute upper limits using the method we present. The approximate likelihood is constructed in bins of reconstructed energy, profiled along the signal expectation in each bin. This approach can be used to compute an approximate likelihood and therefore most statistical results for any nuclear recoil spectrum. Computing approximate results with this method is approximately three orders of magnitude faster than the likelihood used in the original publications of XENON1T, where limits were set for specific families of recoil spectra. Using this same method, we include toy Monte Carlo simulation-derived binwise likelihoods for the upcoming XENONnT experiment that can similarly be used to assess the sensitivity to arbitrary nuclear recoil signatures in its eventual 20 t-year exposure.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present results on the search for two-neutrino double-electron capture (2 ν ECEC) of 124 Xe and neutrinoless double- β decay (0 νββ ) of 136 Xe in XENON1T. We consider captures from the K shell up ...to the N shell in the 2 ν ECEC signal model and measure a total half-life of T 2 ν ECEC 1/2 =(1.1±0.2 stat ±0.1 sys )×10 22 yr with a 0.87 kg yr isotope exposure. The statistical significance of the signal is 7.0 σ . We use XENON1T data with 36.16 kg yr of 136 Xe exposure to search for 0 νββ . We find no evidence of a signal and set a lower limit on the half-life of T 0 νββ 1/2 >1.2×10 24 yr at 90%CL. This is the best result from a dark matter detector without an enriched target to date. We also report projections on the sensitivity of XENONnT to 0 νββ . Assuming a 275 kg yr 136 Xe exposure, the expected sensitivity is T 0 νββ 1/2 >2.1×10 25 yr at 90%CL, corresponding to an effective Majorana mass range of ⟨ mββ ⟩<(0.19–0.59)eV/c 2 .
Abstract
The XENONnT detector uses the latest and largest liquid xenon-based time projection chamber (TPC) operated by the XENON Collaboration, aimed at detecting Weakly Interacting Massive Particles ...and conducting other rare event searches.
The XENONnT data acquisition (DAQ) system constitutes an upgraded and expanded version of the XENON1T DAQ system.
For its operation, it relies predominantly on commercially available hardware accompanied by open-source and custom-developed software.
The three constituent subsystems of the XENONnT detector, the TPC (main detector), muon veto, and the newly introduced neutron veto, are integrated into a single DAQ, and can be operated both independently and as a unified system.
In total, the DAQ digitizes the signals of 698 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), of which 253 from the top PMT array of the TPC are digitized twice, at ×10 and ×0.5 gain.
The DAQ for the most part is a triggerless system, reading out and storing every signal that exceeds the digitization thresholds.
Custom-developed software is used to process the acquired data, making it available within ∼30 s for live data quality monitoring and online analyses.
The entire system with all the three subsystems was successfully commissioned and has been operating continuously, comfortably withstanding readout rates that exceed ∼500 MB/s during calibration.
Livetime during normal operation exceeds 99% and is ∼90% during most high-rate calibrations.
The combined DAQ system has collected more than 2 PB of both calibration and science data during the commissioning of XENONnT and the first science run.
Abstract
A novel online distillation technique was developed for the XENON1T dark matter experiment to reduce intrinsic background components more volatile than xenon, such as krypton or argon, while ...the detector was operating. The method is based on a continuous purification of the gaseous volume of the detector system using the XENON1T cryogenic distillation column. A krypton-in-xenon concentration of (360 ± 60) ppq was achieved. It is the lowest concentration measured in the fiducial volume of an operating dark matter detector to date. A model was developed and fitted to the data to describe the krypton evolution in the liquid and gas volumes of the detector system for several operation modes over the time span of 550 days, including the commissioning and science runs of XENON1T. The online distillation was also successfully applied to remove 37Ar after its injection for a low-energy calibration in XENON1T. This makes the usage of 37Ar as a regular calibration source possible in the future. The online distillation can be applied to next-generation liquid xenon time projection chamber experiments to remove krypton prior to, or during, any science run. The model developed here allows further optimization of the distillation strategy for future large-scale detectors.
Abstract
Understanding propagation of scintillation light is critical for maximizing the discovery potential of next-generation liquid xenon detectors that use dual-phase time projection chamber ...technology. This work describes a detailed optical simulation of the DARWIN detector implemented using Chroma, a GPU-based photon tracking framework. To evaluate the framework and to explore ways of maximizing efficiency and minimizing the time of light collection, we simulate several variations of the conventional detector design. Results of these selected studies are presented. More generally, we conclude that the approach used in this work allows one to investigate alternative designs faster and in more detail than using conventional Geant4 optical simulations, making it an attractive tool to guide the development of the ultimate liquid xenon observatory.
A low-energy electronic recoil calibration of XENON1T, a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber, with an internal 37Ar source was performed. This calibration source features a 35-day half-life and ...provides two mono-energetic lines at 2.82 keV and 0.27 keV. The photon yield and electron yield at 2.82 keV are measured to be (32.3±0.3) photons/keV and (40.6±0.5) electrons/keV, respectively, in agreement with other measurements and with NEST predictions. The electron yield at 0.27 keV is also measured and it is (68.0+6.3−3.7) electrons/keV. The 37Ar calibration confirms that the detector is well-understood in the energy region close to the detection threshold, with the 2.82 keV line reconstructed at (2.83±0.02) keV, which further validates the model used to interpret the low-energy electronic recoil excess previously reported by XENON1T. The ability to efficiently remove argon with cryogenic distillation after the calibration proves that 37Ar can be considered as a regular calibration source for multi-tonne xenon detectors.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
