Observation and applications of single-electron charge signals in the XENON100 experiment

Advanced search
Browse by:

Department | Year

UCL Theses | Latest

Deposit your research

Observation and applications of single-electron charge signals in the XENON100 experiment

Aprile, E; Alfonsi, M; Arisaka, K; Arneodo, F; Balan, C; Baudis, L; Bauermeister, B; ... Weinheimer, C; + view all (2014) Observation and applications of single-electron charge signals in the XENON100 experiment. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics , 41 (3) , Article 035201. 10.1088/0954-3899/41/3/035201. Green open access

[thumbnail of Ghag_observation and applications of single-electron_XENON100_.pdf]

Preview

Text
Ghag_observation and applications of single-electron_XENON100_.pdf - Accepted Version
Download (396kB) | Preview

Abstract

The XENON100 dark matter experiment uses liquid xenon in a time projection chamber (TPC) to measure xenon nuclear recoils resulting from the scattering of dark matter Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). In this paper, we report the observation of single-electron charge signals which are not related to WIMP interactions. These signals, which show the excellent sensitivity of the detector to small charge signals, are explained as being due to the photoionization of impurities in the liquid xenon and of the metal components inside the TPC. They are used as a unique calibration source to characterize the detector. We explain how we can infer crucial parameters for the XENON100 experiment: the secondary-scintillation gain, the extraction yield from the liquid to the gas phase and the electron drift velocity.

Type:	Article
Title:	Observation and applications of single-electron charge signals in the XENON100 experiment
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI:	10.1088/0954-3899/41/3/035201
Publisher version:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0954-3899/41/3/035201
Language:	English
Additional information:	This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1447964