First limits on nuclear recoil events from the ZEPLIN I galactic dark matter detector

Alner, G. J.; Araújo, H. M.; Arnison, G. J.; Barton, J. C.; Bewick, A.; Bungau, Cristian; Camanzi, B.; Carson, M.; Davidge, D.; Dawson, J.; Davies, G.; Davies, Julia; Durkin, T.; Gamble, T.; Hart, Simon P.; Hollingworth, R. J.; Homer, G.J.; Howard, Alex; Ivaniouchenkov, I.; Jones, W. G.; Joshi, M.; Kudryavtsev, V. A.; Lawson, T. B.; Lebedenko, V.N.; Lewin, J.D.; Lightfoot, P. K.; Liubarsky, I.; Lehner, M. J.; Lüscher, R.; McMillan, J. E.; Morgan, B.; Nicholls, A.; Nicklin, G.; Paling, S. M.; Preece, R.; Roberts, John W.; Robinson, M.; Quenby, J. J.; Smith, N. J. T.; Smith, P.F.; Spooner, N. J. C.; Sumner, T. J.; Tovey, D. R.

doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2005.02.004

Cited by 103 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…It has a rich and significant history in the development and support of low-background physics. Until recently, the main experimental area underground was the Palmer Laboratory which hosted the pioneering ZEPLIN dark matter programme that operated a series of three xenon detectors until 2011 [3,4,5,6]. Similarly, the leading directional dark matter programme, DRIFT, was hosted in this laboratory [7].…”

Section: Boulby Underground Laboratorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The copper and lead come from Boulby stock material that has remained underground for at least 2 decades, and selected for the BUGS castles after qualitative assay of batches to determine those with the lowest radioactivity. The internal cavity of each castle is of dimensions (200 × 220 × 510) mm 3 , allowing for the radio-assay of large samples. The varying geometries of the HPGe detector cryostats mean that in each case the distance between the detector face and the bottom of the shield lid varies.…”

Section: Boulby Underground Germanium Suite (Bugs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lumpsey is a 1.5 kg Mirion (Canberra) GSW275L small anode germanium (SAGe) well-type detector with a nominal minimum detector volume of 275 cm 3 and a well diameter and depth of 28 mm and 40 mm, respectively. Lumpsey has a measured relative efficiency of 69%.…”

Section: Lumpsey (Sage Well)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low-background gamma spectroscopy at the Boulby Underground Laboratory

Scovell

Meehan²,

Araújo

et al. 2018

Astroparticle Physics

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The Boulby Underground Germanium Suite (BUGS) comprises three low-background, high-purity germanium detectors operating in the Boulby Underground Laboratory, located 1.1 km underground in the north-east of England, UK. BUGS utilises three types of detector to facilitate a high-sensitivity, high-throughput radio-assay programme to support the development of rare-event search experiments. A Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detector delivers sensitivity to low-energy gamma-rays such as those emitted by 210 Pb and 234 Th. A Small Anode Germanium (SAGe) well-type detector is employed for efficient screening of small samples. Finally, a standard p-type coaxial detector provides fast screening of standard samples. This paper presents the steps used to characterise the performance of these detectors for a variety of sample geometries, including the corrections applied to account for cascade summing effects. For low-density materials, BUGS is able to radio-assay to specific activities down to 3.6 mBq kg −1 for 234 Th and 6.6 mBq kg −1 for 210 Pb both of which have uncovered some significant equilibrium breaks in the 238 U chain. In denser materials, where gamma-ray self-absorption increases, sensitivity is demonstrated to specific activities of 0.9 mBq kg −1 for 226 Ra, 1.1 mBq kg −1 for 228 Ra, 0.3 mBq kg −1 for 224 Ra, and 8.6 mBq kg −1 for 40 K with all upper limits at a 90% confidence level. These meet the requirements of most screening campaigns presently under way for rare-event search experiments, such as the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment. We also highlight the ability of the BEGe detector to probe the X-ray fluorescence region which can be important to identify the presence of radioisotopes associated with neutron production; this is of particular relevance in experiments sensitive to nuclear recoils.

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Section: Boulby Underground Laboratorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Boulby Underground Germanium Suite (Bugs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low-background gamma spectroscopy at the Boulby Underground Laboratory

Scovell

Meehan²,

Araújo

et al. 2018

Astroparticle Physics

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“…Recombination is very efficient for nuclear recoil interactions, and so their scintillation is faster (s ' 21 ns in a single-exponential approximation) than for electrons (s [ 45 ns, depending on energy) [24,26]. This discrimination technique was exploited in ZEPLIN-I [27].…”

Section: The Primary Signalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector: Performance study using an end-to-end simulation tool

Araújo

Akimov

Alner

et al. 2006

Astroparticle Physics

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We present results from a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo tool for end-to-end simulations of the ZEPLIN-III dark matter experiment. ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase detector which measures both the scintillation light and the ionisation charge generated in liquid xenon by interacting particles and radiation. The software models the instrument response to radioactive backgrounds and calibration sources, including the generation, ray-tracing and detection of the primary and secondary scintillations in liquid and gaseous xenon, and subsequent processing by data acquisition electronics. A flexible user interface allows easy modification of detector parameters at run time. Realistic datasets can be produced to help with data analysis, an example of which is the position reconstruction algorithm developed from simulated data. We present a range of simulation results confirming the original design sensitivity of a few times 10 À8 pb to the WIMP-nucleon cross-section.

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“…The goal of this project is the development of a 1-ton argon detector with independent ionization and scintillation readout, demonstrating the feasibility of a ton-scale liquefied noble gas Dark Matter experiment. These are unique features compared to other nobles liquid projects [2,3,4,5], (see also [6]). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ArDM project: a Liquid Argon TPC for Dark Matter Detection

Łaffranchi¹,

Rubbia²,

Collaboration³

2007

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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Abstract. WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) are considered the main candidates for Cold Dark Matter. The ArDM experiment aims at measuring signals directly induced by WIMPs in liquid argon. A 1-ton prototype is currently developed with the goal of demonstrating the feasibility and performance of a detector with such a large target mass. ArDM aims at acting as a liquid argon TPC and additionally measuring the scintillation light. The principle of the experiment and the conceptual design of the detector are described.

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First limits on nuclear recoil events from the ZEPLIN I galactic dark matter detector

Cited by 103 publications

References 32 publications

Low-background gamma spectroscopy at the Boulby Underground Laboratory

Low-background gamma spectroscopy at the Boulby Underground Laboratory

The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector: Performance study using an end-to-end simulation tool

The ArDM project: a Liquid Argon TPC for Dark Matter Detection

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