Observation of primary scintillations in the visible range in liquid argon doped with methane

Bondar, A.; Borisova, E.; Frolov, E.; Nosov, V. V.; Oleynikov, V.; Sokolov, A.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/15/06/c06053

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The liquid level in the EL gap was monitored with an accuracy of 0.5 mm, being calculated from the amount of con-densed Ar using a computer-aided design (CAD) software, the latter verified in special calibration runs with THGEM1 operated as a capacitive liquid level meter [35].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SiPM-matrix readout of two-phase argon detectors using electroluminescence in the visible and near infrared range

Aalseth¹,

Abdelhakim²,

Agnes³

et al. 2021

Eur. Phys. J. C

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Proportional electroluminescence (EL) in noble gases is used in two-phase detectors for dark matter searches to record (in the gas phase) the ionization signal induced by particle scattering in the liquid phase. The “standard” EL mechanism is considered to be due to noble gas excimer emission in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV). In addition, there are two alternative mechanisms, producing light in the visible and near infrared (NIR) ranges. The first is due to bremsstrahlung of electrons scattered on neutral atoms (“neutral bremsstrahlung”, NBrS). The second, responsible for electron avalanche scintillation in the NIR at higher electric fields, is due to transitions between excited atomic states. In this work, we have for the first time demonstrated two alternative techniques of the optical readout of two-phase argon detectors, in the visible and NIR range, using a silicon photomultiplier matrix and electroluminescence due to either neutral bremsstrahlung or avalanche scintillation. The amplitude yield and position resolution were measured for these readout techniques, which allowed to assess the detection threshold for electron and nuclear recoils in two-phase argon detectors for dark matter searches. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first practical application of the NBrS effect in detection science.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SiPM-matrix readout of two-phase argon detectors using electroluminescence in the visible and near infrared range

Aalseth¹,

Abdelhakim²,

Agnes³

et al. 2021

Eur. Phys. J. C

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“…The recombination coefficient is a function of the energy and is described by the following equation (see Fig. 4 in [14]):…”

Section: Energy Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, there were indications on the production of primary scintillations in the visible and near infrared (NIR) range in liquid Ar [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], albeit at a much lower yield, of the order of 500 photon/MeV [6], the origin of which is still not clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, in this work we systematically study the properties of visible light scintillations both in pure liquid Ar and its mixtures with CH 4 to verify the previous results and hypotheses. The preliminary results of the study were published in [14]. In the current work, the experimental setup design was improved compared to that of [14], namely photon collection efficiency was increased, cross-talk background was decreased and an alpha-particle source of irradiation was used in addition to that of pulsed X-ray.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The preliminary results of the study were published in [14]. In the current work, the experimental setup design was improved compared to that of [14], namely photon collection efficiency was increased, cross-talk background was decreased and an alpha-particle source of irradiation was used in addition to that of pulsed X-ray. As a result, the photon yields of visible light scintillations were measured in pure liquid Ar and its mixtures with CH 4 with improved accuracy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Study of visible-light emission in pure and methane-doped liquid argon

Bondar¹,

Borisova²,

Buzulutskov³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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In liquid argon TPCs for dark matter search and neutrino detection experiments, primary scintillations are used as a prompt signal of particle scattering, being intensively produced in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) due to excimer emission mechanism. On the other hand, there were indications on the production of visible light scintillations in liquid argon, albeit at a much lower intensity, the origin of which is still not clear. The closely related issue is visible light scintillations in liquid argon doped with methane, the interest in which is due to the possible use in neutron veto detectors for those experiments. In this work we study in detail the properties of such scintillations in pure liquid argon and its mixtures with methane. In particular, the absolute photon yield of visible light scintillations in pure liquid argon was measured to be about 200 and 90 photon/MeV for X-rays and alpha particles respectively. In liquid argon doped with methane the photon yield dropped down significantly, by about an order of magnitude at a methane content varying from 0.01 to 1%, and then almost did not change when further increasing the methane content up to 10%. There are firm indications that the mechanism of visible light scintillations in liquid argon and its mixtures with methane is that of neutral bremsstrahlung of primary ionization electrons.

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Study of visible-light emission in pure and methane-doped liquid argon

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In liquid argon TPCs for dark matter search and neutrino detection experiments, primary scintillation light is used as a prompt signal of particle scattering, being intensively produced in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) due to excimer emission mechanism. On the other hand, there were indications on the production of visible-light emission in liquid argon, albeit at a much lower intensity, the origin of which is still not clear. The closely related issue is visible-light emission in liquid argon doped with methane, the interest in which is due to the possible use in neutron veto detectors for those experiments. In this work we study in detail the properties of such light emission in pure liquid argon and its mixtures with methane. In particular, the absolute photon yield of visible-light emission in pure liquid argon was measured to be about 200 and 90 photon/MeV for X-rays and alpha particles respectively. In liquid argon doped with methane the photon yield dropped down significantly, by about an order of magnitude at a methane molar content varying from 0.01 to 1%, and then almost did not change when further increasing the methane content up to 10%.

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Observation of primary scintillations in the visible range in liquid argon doped with methane

Cited by 4 publications

References 33 publications

SiPM-matrix readout of two-phase argon detectors using electroluminescence in the visible and near infrared range

SiPM-matrix readout of two-phase argon detectors using electroluminescence in the visible and near infrared range

Study of visible-light emission in pure and methane-doped liquid argon

Study of visible-light emission in pure and methane-doped liquid argon

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