The liquid handling systems for the Borexino solar neutrino detector Alimonti, G.; Avanzini, M.B.; Back, H. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2009, Volume:
609, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The successful deployment of the Borexino solar neutrino detector required assorted physical and chemical operations to produce exceptional pure fluids and fill multiple detector zones. The ...composition and flow rates of high purity gases and liquids had to be precisely controlled to maintain liquid levels and pressures. The system was required to meet exceptional requirements for cleanliness and leak-tightness. A large scale modular system connecting fluid receiving, purification and fluid delivery processes was developed for Borexino. At the core is a flow control system that delivers scintillator components to plants for purification, and then fills the Borexino detector volumes with ultrahigh purity buffer or ultrahigh purity scintillator. The liquid handling system maintains precise control over the liquid levels and differential pressures between the different volumes of the detectors that are separated by flexible nylon vessels. The preparation, commissioning and operation of the system for filling the Borexino detector with scintillator is described.
Liquid argon is a bright scintillator with potent particle identification properties, making it an attractive target for direct-detection dark matter searches.
Photon mass and electrogenesis Dolgov, Alexander; Pelliccia, Diego N.
Physics letters. B,
06/2007, Volume:
650, Issue:
2-3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We show that if the photon possesses a tiny but non-vanishing mass, the universe cannot be electrically neutral. A cosmological electric asymmetry could be generated either at an early stage by the ...different evaporation rates of the primordial black holes with respect to positively and negatively charged particles or by a predominant capture of protons in comparison to electrons by the heavy galactic black holes in the contemporary universe. An impact of this phenomenon on the generation of large scale magnetic fields and on the acceleration of the universe is considered.
A first walk on the DarkSide Davini, S.; Agnes, P.; Alexander, T. ...
Nuclear and particle physics proceedings,
04/2016, Volume:
273-275, Issue:
C
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
DarkSide-50 (DS-50) at Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS), Italy, is a direct dark matter search experiment based on a TPC with liquid argon. DS-50 has completed its first dark matter run using ...atmospheric argon as target. The DS-50 detector performances and the results of the first physics run are reviewed in this proceeding.
The DarkSide experiment aims to perform a background-free direct search for dark matter with a dual-phase argon TPC. The current phase of the experiment, DarkSide-50, is acquiring data at Laboratori ...Nazionali del Gran Sasso and produced the most sensitive limit on the WIMP-nucleon cross section ever obtained with a liquid argon target (2.0 × 10-44 cm2 for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c2). The future phase of the experiment will be a 20 t fiducial mass detector, designed to reach a sensitivity of ~1 × 10-47 cm2 (at 1 TeV/c2 WIMP mass) with a background-free exposure of 100 ty. Here, this work contains a discussion of the current status of the DarkSide-50 WIMP search and of the results which are more relevant for the construction of the future detector.
DarkSide-50 is a two phase argon TPC for direct dark matter detection which is installed at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory, Italy. DarkSide-50 has a 50-kg active volume and will make use of ...underground argon low in 39Ar. The TPC is installed inside an active neutron veto made with boron-loaded high radiopurity liquid scintillator. The neutron veto is installed inside a 1000 m3 water Cherenkov muon veto. The DarkSide-50 TPC and cryostat are assembled in two radon-free clean rooms to reduce radioactive contaminants. The overall design aims for a background free exposure after selection cuts are applied. The expected sensitivity for WIMP-nucleon cross section is of the order of 10−45cm2 for WIMP masses around 100GeV/c2. The commissioning and performance of the detector are described. Details of the low-radioactivity underground argon and other unique features of the projects are reported.
Here, DarkSide (DS) at Gran Sasso underground laboratory is a direct Dark Matter search program based on Time Projection Chambers (TPC) with liquid Argon from underground sources. The DarkSide-50 ...(DS-50) TPC, with 150 kg of Argon is installed inside active neutron and muon detectors. DS-50 has been taking data since November 2013 with Atmospheric Argon (AAr) and since April 2015 with Underground Argon (UAr), depleted in radioactive 39Ar by a factor ~1400. The exposure of 1422 kg d of AAr has demonstrated that the operation of DS-50 for three years in a background free condition is a solid reality, thanks to the superb performance of the Pulse Shape Analysis. The first release of results from an exposure of 2616 kg d of UAr has shown no candidate Dark Matter events. We have set the best limit for Spin-Independent elastic nuclear scattering of WIMPs obtained by Argon-based detectors, corresponding to a cross-section of 2 10–44 cm2 at a WIMP mass of 100 GeV. We present the detector design and performance, the results from the AAr run and the first results from the UAr run and we briefly introduce the future of the DarkSide program.
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