ZE3RA: the ZEPLIN-III Reduction and Analysis package

Neves, F.; Akimov, D.; Araújo, H. M.; Barnes, E. J.; Belov, V.; Burenkov, A.; Chepel, V.; Currie, A.; Viveiros, L. de; Edwards, B.; Ghag, C.; Hollingsworth, A.; Horn, M.; Kalmus, G.; Kobyakin, A. S.; Kovalenko, A. G.; Lebedenko, V.N.; Lindote, A.; Lopes, I.; Lüscher, R.; Majewski, P.; Murphy, A. St. J.; Paling, S. M.; Cunha, J. Pinto da; Preece, R.; Quenby, J. J.; Reichhart, L.; Rodrigues, Sónia; Scovell, P. R.; Silva, C.; Solovov, V.; Smith, N. J. T.; Smith, P.F.; Stekhanov, V.; Sumner, T. J.; Thorne, Claire; Walker, R. J.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/6/11/p11004

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Pulse-finding and parametrisation of the waveforms were carried out by ZE3RA [19], our event reduction software. The reduced data were then searched for single scatter events (single S1 and S2 pulses) which were retained for further analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WIMP-nucleon cross-section results from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III

et al. 2012

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We report experimental upper limits on WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross sections from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III at the Boulby Underground Laboratory. A raw fiducial exposure of 1,344 kg·days was accrued over 319 days of continuous operation between June 2010 and May 2011. A total of eight events was observed in the signal acceptance region in the nuclear recoil energy range 7-29 keV, which is compatible with background expectations. This allows the exclusion of the scalar cross-section above 4.8×10 −8 pb near 50 GeV/c 2 WIMP mass with 90% confidence. Combined with data from the first run, this result improves to 3.9×10 −8 pb. The corresponding WIMP-neutron spin-dependent cross-section limit is 8.0×10 −3 pb. The ZEPLIN programme reaches thus its conclusion at Boulby, having deployed and exploited successfully three liquid xenon experiments of increasing reach.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WIMP-nucleon cross-section results from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III

et al. 2012

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“…In this instance waveforms were parametrized using a bespoke data reduction software adapted from that developed for the ZEPLIN-III instrument [24]. The trigger was provided by an external pulse generator at a constant frequency.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quenching factor for low-energy nuclear recoils in a plastic scintillator

et al. 2012

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Plastic scintillators are widely used in industry, medicine, and scientific research, including nuclear and particle physics. Although one of their most common applications is in neutron detection, experimental data on their response to low-energy nuclear recoils are scarce. Here, the relative scintillation efficiency for neutroninduced nuclear recoils in a polystyrene-based plastic scintillator (UPS-923A) is presented, exploring recoil energies between 125 and 850 keV. Monte Carlo simulations, incorporating light collection efficiency and energy resolution effects, are used to generate neutron scattering spectra which are matched to observed distributions of scintillation signals to parameterize the energy-dependent quenching factor. At energies above 300 keV the dependence is reasonably described using the semiempirical formulation of Birks and a kB factor of (0.014 ± 0.002) g MeV −1 cm −2 has been determined. Below that energy, the measured quenching factor falls more steeply than predicted by the Birks formalism.

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“…Slow control data including xenon pressures, temperatures and electrode voltages are embedded into the DAQ stream. The data are scanned off-line for photon and electron emission using the ZE3RA software [30]. A waveform showing electron emission both preceding and during a regular event (with S1 and S2 pulses) was shown in Fig.…”

Section: Data Acquisition and Pulse Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study and mitigation of spurious electron emission from cathodic wires in noble liquid time projection chambers

Tomás

Araújo

Bailey

et al. 2018

Astroparticle Physics

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Noble liquid radiation detectors have long been afflicted by spurious electron emission from their cathodic electrodes. This phenomenon must be understood and mitigated in the next generation of liquid xenon (LXe) experiments searching for WIMP dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay, and in the large liquid argon (LAr) detectors for the longbaseline neutrino programmes. We present a systematic study of this spurious emission involving a series of slow voltage-ramping tests on fine metal wires immersed in a two-phase xenon time projection chamber with single electron sensitivity. Emission currents as low as 10 −18 A can thus be detected by electron counting, a vast improvement over previous dedicated measurements. Emission episodes were recorded at surface fields as low as ∼10 kV/cm in some wires and observed to have complex emission patterns, with average rates of 10-200 counts per second (c/s) and outbreaks as high as ∼10 6 c/s. A fainter, less variable type of emission was also present in all untreated samples. There is evidence of a partial conditioning effect, with subsequent tests yielding on average fewer emitters occurring at different fields for the same wire. We find no evidence for an intrinsic threshold particular to the metal-LXe interface which might have limited previous experiments up to fields of at least 160 kV/cm. The general phenomenology is not consistent with enhanced field emission from microscopic filaments, but it appears instead to be related to the quality of the wire surface in terms of corrosion and the nature of its oxide layer. This study concludes that some surface treatments, in particular nitric acid cleaning applied to stainless steel wires, can bring about at least order-of-magnitude improvements in overall electron emission rates, and this should help the next generation of detectors achieve the required electrostatic performance.

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ZE3RA: the ZEPLIN-III Reduction and Analysis package

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

WIMP-nucleon cross-section results from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III

WIMP-nucleon cross-section results from the second science run of ZEPLIN-III

Quenching factor for low-energy nuclear recoils in a plastic scintillator

Study and mitigation of spurious electron emission from cathodic wires in noble liquid time projection chambers

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