Extraction efficiency of drifting electrons in a two-phase xenon time projection chamber

Edwards, B. N.; Bernard, E. P.; Boulton, E. M.; Destefano, Nicholas; Gai, M.; Horn, M.; Larsen, N. A.; Tennyson, B. P.; Tvrznikova, L.; Wahl, Christopher G.; McKinsey, D. N.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/13/01/p01005

Cited by 23 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(33 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…XENON1T compared the g2 obtained from the anti-correlation fit of several mono-energetic sources (assuming a literature W -value) and the g2 from the lowest S2 signals [35]. However, more recent relative measurements imply that the extraction efficiency might only be 89-95% at the extraction field of interest [36,37]. These were searching for saturation of the ratio of the S2 signals of mono-energetic calibration sources and the SE S2 at increasing extraction fields.…”

Section: Electron Extraction Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A measurement of the mean electronic excitation energy of liquid xenon

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Detectors using liquid xenon as target are widely deployed in rare event searches. Conclusions on the interacting particle rely on a precise reconstruction of the deposited energy which requires calibrations of the energy scale of the detector by means of radioactive sources. However, a microscopic calibration, i.e. the translation from the number of excitation quanta into deposited energy, also necessitates good knowledge of the energy required to produce single scintillation photons or ionisation electrons in liquid xenon. The sum of these excitation quanta is directly proportional to the deposited energy in the target. The proportionality constant is the mean excitation energy and is commonly known as W-value. Here we present a measurement of the W-value with electronic recoil interactions in a small dual-phase xenon time projection chamber with a hybrid (photomultiplier tube and silicon photomultipliers) photosensor configuration. Our result is based on calibrations at $$\mathcal {O}(1{-}10\,{\hbox {keV}})$$ O ( 1 - 10 keV ) with internal $${^{37}\hbox {Ar}}$$ 37 Ar and $${^{83\text {m}}\hbox {Kr}}$$ 83 m Kr sources and single electron events. We obtain a value of $$W={11.5}{} \, ^{+0.2}_{-0.3} \, \mathrm {(syst.)} \, \hbox {eV}$$ W = 11.5 - 0.3 + 0.2 ( syst . ) eV , with negligible statistical uncertainty, which is lower than previously measured at these energies. If further confirmed, our result will be relevant for modelling the absolute response of liquid xenon detectors to particle interactions.

show abstract

Section: Electron Extraction Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As noted in Ref. [36], such measurements are, however, highly subject to systematic uncertainties from the geometry of the extraction region. In Ref.…”

Section: Electron Extraction Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

A measurement of the mean electronic excitation energy of liquid xenon

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Through proportional electroluminescence (EL) amplification in xenon gas, an electron can produce hundreds to thousands of secondary photons [8]. A typical xenon TPC used in dark matter search experiments can detect a few dozen EL photons for each electron [9][10][11][12], and higher electron gain values of ≳100 photoelectrons (PHEs) per electron have also been demonstrated [13,14]. The observation of single electron (SE) events not only provides an in situ calibration for these experiments, but has also enabled them to attain world-leading sensitivities to GeV-and sub-GeV-mass dark matter candidates, substantially below the mass range targeted by these detectors [10,15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of background electron emission in the LUX detector

Akerib¹,

Alsum²,

Araújo³

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. D

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dual-phase xenon detectors, as currently used in direct detection dark matter experiments, have observed elevated rates of background electron events in the low energy region. While this background negatively impacts detector performance in various ways, its origins have only been partially studied. In this paper we report a systematic investigation of the electron pathologies observed in the LUX dark matter experiment. We characterize different electron populations based on their emission intensities and their correlations with preceding energy depositions in the detector. By studying the background under different experimental conditions, we identified the leading emission mechanisms, including photoionization and the photoelectric effect induced by the xenon luminescence, delayed emission of electrons trapped under the liquid surface, capture and release of drifting electrons by impurities, and grid electron emission. We discuss how these backgrounds can be mitigated in LUX and future xenon-based dark matter experiments.

show abstract

“…• the electron lifetime achieved the level of several milliseconds at the end of ~ 1-month period of circulation through the hot getter; • single electron calibration and calibration by g-sources 22 Na and 60 Со was performed, and the electron emission efficiency of 0.54 ± 0.08 at electric field of 3.0 ± 0.1 kV/cm was obtained which is rather different from the value obtained in [45], [46], [47] but is closer to the earlier result of [48]; • the rate of "spontaneous" SE was obtained to be ~ 250 kHz; the rate of background caused by accidental coincidences of "spontaneous" SE is estimated from this value for the experimental site at KNPP taking into account reduction of the average muon flux by a factor of 5; • the expected CEnNS signal is recalculated with the use of the latest measurements of ionization yield of xenon nuclear recoils in the sub-keV energy range; it was demonstrated that with the current value of EEE the SE accidental coincidences background becomes lower than the CEnNS signal level when > 4 electrons are selected and detection of CEnNS signal is feasible at KNPP.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…The efficiency of electron emission (EEE) from the liquid xenon surface to the gas phase under the applied electric field is a very important characteristic of a two-phase emission detector. There are many experimental tests in which this value has been measured [42], [45], [46], [47], [48]. However, the results are quite different from each other.…”

Section: Electron Emission Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

First ground-level laboratory test of the two-phase xenon emission detector RED-100

Akimov

Belov²,

Bolozdynya³

et al. 2020

J. Inst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

RED-100 is a two-phase detector for study of coherent elastic scattering of reactor electron antineutrinos off xenon atomic nuclei. The detector contains a total of 200 kg of liquid xenon in a titanium cryostat with 160 kg of xenon in active volume inside a Teflon-made light collection cage associated with electrode system. The active volume is viewed by two arrays of nineteen 3"-diameter Hamamatsu R11410-20 PMTs assembled in two planes on top and bottom. The electrode system is equipped with an electron shutter (a patented device) to reduce a "spontaneous" single-electron noise. The detector was tested in a ground-level laboratory. The obtained results demonstrate that detection of coherent elastic scattering of reactor antineutrinos off xenon nuclei at Kalinin nuclear power plant with the RED-100 detector is feasible with a threshold of 4 ionization electrons.

show abstract

Extraction efficiency of drifting electrons in a two-phase xenon time projection chamber

Cited by 23 publications

References 28 publications

A measurement of the mean electronic excitation energy of liquid xenon

A measurement of the mean electronic excitation energy of liquid xenon

Investigation of background electron emission in the LUX detector

First ground-level laboratory test of the two-phase xenon emission detector RED-100

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About