We present the first measurement of nuclear recoils from solar 8 B neutrinos via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering with the XENONnT dark matter experiment. The central detector of XENONnT is a low-background, two-phase time projection chamber with a 5.9 t sensitive liquid xenon target. A blind analysis with an exposure of 3.51 t×y resulted in 37 observed events above 0.5 keV, with (26.4 +1.4 −1.3 ) events expected from backgrounds. The background-only hypothesis is rejected with a statistical significance of 2.73 σ. The measured 8 B solar neutrino flux of (4.7 +3.6 −2.3 ) × 10 6 cm −2 s −1 is consistent with results from dedicated solar neutrino experiments. The measured neutrino flux-weighted CEνNS cross-section on Xe of (1.1 +0.8 −0.5 ) × 10 −39 cm 2 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction. This is the first direct measurement of nuclear recoils from solar neutrinos with a dark matter detector.
[1] A new data mode and new analysis methods are used to detect Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) with the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) 10 times more frequently than previously. In 1037 h of observations at times and over regions for which TGFs are expected, 384 new TGFs were found in addition to the 39 TGFs and two Terrestrial Electron Beam events already detected without the new data mode and methodology. Cosmic ray showers were found to be an important background; they show characteristic signatures in the data of both GBM and the Fermi Large Area Telescope Calorimeter that enable their removal, leaving a sample estimated to consist of 98% TGFs. The sample includes shorter TGFs than previously found with GBM. The true duration distribution likely contains additional short TGFs because their detection by GBM is limited by detector dead time. One-third of this sample has matches with locations from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN)-maps of these locations show the geographic and meteorological features more clearly than maps of spacecraft locations. The intrinsic TGF rate is evaluated using the lightning rate maps of the Lightning Imaging Sensor, accounting for the detection efficiency of GBM as a function of spacecraft-source offset, from which we estimate a global TGF rate of 400,000 per year. With continuous production of data in the new mode we estimate that GBM will detect 850 TGFs per year.
Results from a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) of ^{136}Xe are presented using the first year of data taken with the upgraded EXO-200 detector. Relative to previous searches by EXO-200, the energy resolution of the detector has been improved to σ/E=1.23%, the electric field in the drift region has been raised by 50%, and a system to suppress radon in the volume between the cryostat and lead shielding has been implemented. In addition, analysis techniques that improve topological discrimination between 0νββ and background events have been developed. Incorporating these hardware and analysis improvements, the median 90% confidence level 0νββ half-life sensitivity after combining with the full data set acquired before the upgrade has increased twofold to 3.7×10^{25} yr. No statistically significant evidence for 0νββ is observed, leading to a lower limit on the 0νββ half-life of 1.8×10^{25} yr at the 90% confidence level.
We report on an improved measurement of the 2νββ half-life of 136 Xe performed by EXO-200. The use of a large and homogeneous time projection chamber allows for the precise estimate of the fiducial mass used for the measurement, resulting in a small systematic uncertainty. We also discuss in detail the data analysis methods used for double-beta decay searches with EXO-200, while emphasizing those directly related to the present measurement. The 136 Xe 2νββ half-life is found to be T 2νββ 1/2 = 2.165 ± 0.016(stat) ± 0.059(sys) · 10 21 years. This is the most precisely measured half-life of any 2νββ decay to date.
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