We present the first search for a dark matter annual modulation signal in the Southern Hemisphere conducted with NaI(Tl) detectors, performed by the DM-Ice17 experiment. Nuclear recoils from dark ...matter interactions are expected to yield an annually modulated signal independent of location within the Earth’s hemispheres. DM-Ice17, the first step in the DM-Ice experimental program, consists of 17 kg of NaI(Tl) located at the South Pole under 2200 m.w.e. overburden of Antarctic glacial ice. Taken over 3.6 years for a total exposure of 60.8 kg yr, DM-Ice17 data are consistent with no modulation in the energy range of 4–20 keV, providing the strongest limits on weakly interacting massive particle dark matter from a direct detection experiment located in the Southern Hemisphere. The successful deployment and stable long-term operation of DM-Ice17 establishes the South Pole ice as a viable location for future dark matter searches and in particular for a high-sensitivity NaI(Tl) dark matter experiment to directly test the DAMA/LIBRA claim of the observation of dark matter.
We report experimental upper limits on WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross sections from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III at the Boulby Underground Laboratory. A raw fiducial exposure of 1344 ...kg⋅days was accrued over 319 days of continuous operation between June 2010 and May 2011. A total of eight events was observed in the signal acceptance region in the nuclear recoil energy range 7–29 keV, which is compatible with background expectations. This allows the exclusion of the scalar cross-section above 4.8×10−8 pb near 50 GeV/c2 WIMP mass with 90% confidence. Combined with data from the first run, this result improves to 3.9×10−8 pb. The corresponding WIMP-neutron spin-dependent cross-section limit is 8.0×10−3 pb. The ZEPLIN programme reaches thus its conclusion at Boulby, having deployed and exploited successfully three liquid xenon experiments of increasing reach.
We present results of thermal neutron flux measurements in experimental granite piles that were tailored to study the effect of hydrogen-rich covers on that flux. We find that hydrogen-rich covers ...(polyethylene, water), used as proxies for snow, dead and/or live plant matter, increase the thermal neutron flux in an underlying rock surface significantly, as compared to the state without cover. The rock serves as the main source for thermal neutrons, the hydrogen-rich cover as a neutron reflector. In situations where the thickness of such a cover would be negligible in terms of high-energy neutron (>10 MeV) attenuation, e.g. 2–3 cm water equivalent cover, a significant enhancement of the thermal neutron flux (factor >2.5 ± 0.5) can be achieved. This increase is made up of three components (Masarik et al., 2007): (1) reflected thermal neutrons (albedo neutrons), (2) moderated fast neutrons from the ground, and (3) moderated fast neutrons from the atmospheric cascade (Masarik et al., 2007). The higher thermal neutron flux increases the production rates of those cosmogenic nuclides that have a significant thermal neutron production pathway (3He, 36Cl, 41Ca). Ignoring this effect in situations where target nuclei (6Li, 35Cl, 40Ca) are abundant will severely underestimate production rates. The effect of hydrogen-rich ground cover on the thermal neutron flux has the potential to be used for studies that are aimed at reconstructing the persistence of past plant/snow cover. Isotopic ratios of spallogenic versus predominantly thermal neutron produced nuclides, would reveal the presence or absence of hydrogen-rich cover in the past as compared to the present-day situation.
► The effects of hydrogen-rich covers on the thermal neutron flux are investigated. ► Hydrogen-rich covers more than double the thermal neutron flux in the ground. ► Production rates of cosmogenic nuclides have to be corrected for hydrogen-rich cover. ► The sensitivity to hydrogen-rich covers can be used to infer the nature of ground cover in the past.
► DRIFT is only one of a handful of directional dark matter detectors. ► A method of rejecting Radon Progeny Recoils, DRIFT’s main background, is discussed. ► Additionally DRIFT-IId was found to run ...stably with a mixture of CS2 and CF4. ► DRIFT’s sensitivity is orders of magnitude better than other directional detectors.
Data are presented from the DRIFT-IId detector operated in the Boulby Underground Science Facility in England. A 0.8m3 fiducial volume, containing partial pressures of 30Torr CS2 and 10Torr CF4, was exposed for a duration of 47.4 live-time days with sufficient passive shielding to provide a neutron free environment within the detector. The nuclear recoil events seen are consistent with a remaining low-level background from the decay of radon daughters attached to the central cathode of the detector. However, charge from such events must drift across the entire width of the detector, and thus display large diffusion upon reaching the readout planes of the device. Exploiting this feature, it is shown to be possible to reject energy depositions from these Radon Progeny Recoil events while still retaining sensitivity to fiducial-volume nuclear recoil events. The response of the detector is then interpreted, using the F nuclei content of the gas, in terms of sensitivity to proton spin-dependent WIMP–nucleon interactions, displaying a minimum in sensitivity cross section at 1.8pb for a WIMP mass of 100GeV/c2. This sensitivity was achieved without compromising the direction sensitivity of DRIFT.
We report the measurement of muons and muon-induced phosphorescence in DM-Ice17, a NaI(Tl) direct detection dark matter experiment at the South Pole. Muon interactions in the crystal are identified ...by their observed pulse shape and large energy depositions. The measured muon rate in DM-Ice17 is 2.93+ or -0.04 mu /crystal/day with a modulation amplitude of 12.3+ or -1.7%, consistent with expectation. Following muon interactions, we observe long-lived phosphorescence in the NaI(Tl) crystals with a decay time of 5.5+ or -0.5s. The prompt energy deposited by a muon is correlated to the amount of delayed phosphorescence, the brightest of which consist of tens of millions of photons. These photons are distributed over tens of seconds with a rate and arrival timing that do not mimic a scintillation signal above 2keV sub(ee). While the properties of phosphorescence vary among individual crystals, the annually modulating signal observed by DAMA cannot be accounted for by phosphorescence with the characteristics observed in DM-Ice17.
SUMMARY
Cosmic ray muons are highly penetrating, with some reaching several kilometres into solid rock. Consequently, muon detectors have been used to probe the interiors of large geological ...structures, by observing how the muon flux varies with direction of arrival. There is an increasing need to discriminate between materials differing only slightly in bulk density. A particularly demanding application is in monitoring underground reservoirs used for CO2 capture and storage, where bulk density changes of approximately 1 per cent are anticipated. Muon arrival is a random process, and it is the underlying expectation values, not the actual muon counts, which provide information on the physical parameters of the system. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between differences in muon counts due to real geological features, and those arising from random error. This is crucial in the low-contrast case, where the method can reach the information theoretic limit of what a data source can reveal, even in principle. To this end, methods to analyse information availability in low-contrast muon radiography have been developed, as have means to optimally interpret the available data, both for radiography and for tomography. This includes a method for calculating expectation values of muon flux for a given geological model directly, complementing existing Monte Carlo techniques. A case study, using a model of carbon capture is presented. It is shown that the new data analysis techniques have the potential to approximately double the effective sensitivity of the detectors.
Scintillation and ionisation yields for nuclear recoils in liquid xenon above 10 keVnr (nuclear recoil energy) are deduced from data acquired using broadband Am–Be neutron sources. The nuclear recoil ...data from several exposures to two sources were compared to detailed simulations. Energy-dependent scintillation and ionisation yields giving acceptable fits to the data were derived. Efficiency and resolution effects are treated using a light collection Monte Carlo, measured photomultiplier response profiles and hardware trigger studies. A gradual fall in scintillation yield below ∼40 keVnr is found, together with a rising ionisation yield; both are in agreement with the latest independent measurements. The analysis method is applied to the most recent ZEPLIN-III data, acquired with a significantly upgraded detector and a precision-calibrated Am–Be source, as well as to the earlier data from the first run in 2008. A new method for deriving the recoil scintillation yield, which includes sub-threshold S1 events, is also presented which confirms the main analysis.
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