scholarly journals Micromegas for dark matter searches: CAST/IAXO & TREX-DM experiments

2018 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 01008 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Garza ◽  
S. Aune ◽  
F. Aznar ◽  
J. F. Castel ◽  
S. Cebrián ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Light Nuclei ◽  
Solar Telescope ◽  
Particle Detectors ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Time Projection Chambers ◽  
Low Energies ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Time Projection ◽  
Low Mass Wimp

The most compelling candidates for Dark Matter to day are WIMPs and axions. The applicability of gasesous Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) with Micromesh Gas Structures (Micromegas) to the search of these particles is explored within this work. Both particles would produce an extremely low rate at very low energies in particle detectors. Micromegas detectors can provide both low background rates and low energy threshold, due to the high granularity, radiopurity and uniformity of the readout. Small (few cm wide) Micromegas detectors are used to image the axion-induced x-ray signal expected in the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment. We show the background levels obtained in CAST and the prospects to further reduce them to the values required by the Internation Axion Observatory (IAXO). We also present TREX-DM, a scaled-up version of the Micromegas used in axion research, but this time dedicated to the low-mass WIMP detection. TREX-DM is a high-pressure Micromegas-based TPC designed to host a few hundreds of grams of light nuclei (argon or neon) with energy thresholds potentially at the level of 100 eV. The detector is described in detail, as well as the results of the commissioning and characterization phase on surface. Besides, the background model of TREX-DM is presented, along with the anticipated sensitivity of this search, which could go beyond current experimental limits.

scholarly journals GEM-Based Detectors for Direct Detection of Low-Mass WIMP, Solar Axions and Narrow Resonances (Quarks)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Parusov ◽  
Boris Ovchinnikov
Keyword(s):  
Direct Detection ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Beta Particle ◽  
Gaseous Mixtures ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Nonzero Spin ◽  
Time Projection ◽  
First Time ◽  
Solar Axions ◽  
Low Mass Wimp

Gas electron multipliers (GEMs) with wire (WGEMs) or metal electrodes (MGEMs), which don’t use any plastic insulators between electrodes are created. The chambers containing MGEMs (WGEMs) with pin-anodes are proposed as detectors for searching of spin-dependent interactions between Dark Matter (DM) particles and gases with nonzero-spin nuclei (H2, D2, 3He, 21Ne, CF4, CH4, etc.). In this paper, we present a review of such chambers. For investigation of the gas mixtures Ne+10%H2, H2 (D2) +3ppmTMAE, the chamber containing WGEM with pin-anode detection system was constructed. In this paper we present the results of an experimental study of these gaseous mixtures exited by an α - source. Mixture of Ar + 40 ppm C2H4 and mixture 50% Xe + 50%CF4 have been investigated. The spatial distributions of photoelectron clouds produced by primary scintillations on α- and β-particle tracks, as well as the distributions of photoelectron clouds due to photons from avalanches at the pin-anode, have been measured for the first time. In our experiments as another filling of the chambers for search of low-mas WIMP (<10 GeV/c2), solar neutrino and solar axions with spin-dependent interaction we propose to use the mixtures: D2 + 3ppmTMAE, 3He + 3%CH4, 21Ne + 10%H2, at pressure 10-17 bar. And in our experiment with liquid gases is used the mixtures with 19F (LAr + CF4, LXe + CF4) and mixture LCH4 + 40ppm TMAE. The time projection chamber (TPC) with the mixture D2 + 3ppmTMAE filling allow to search of spin-dependent interactions of solar axions and deuterium. As well as we present the detecting systems for search of narrow pp-resonances (quarks) in accelerators experiments.

scholarly journals RESULTS FROM THE XENON100 EXPERIMENT

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (A) ◽  
pp. 555-559
Author(s):  
Rino Persiani
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Elastic Scattering ◽  
Target Material ◽  
Current Phase ◽  
Liquid Xenon ◽  
Phase Time ◽  
Time Projection Chambers ◽  
Double Phase ◽  
Time Projection

The XENON program consists in operating and developing double-phase time projection chambers using liquid xenon as the target material. It aims to directly detect dark matter in the form of WIMPs via their elastic scattering off xenon nuclei. The current phase is XENON100, located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), with a 62 kg liquid xenon target. We present the 100.9 live days of data, acquired between January and June 2010, with no evidence of dark matter, as well as the new results of the last scientific run, with about 225 live days. The next phase, XENON1T, will increase the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude.

scholarly journals The XXL Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arya Farahi ◽  
Valentina Guglielmo ◽  
August E. Evrard ◽  
Bianca M. Poggianti ◽  
Christophe Adami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Galaxy Groups ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Massive Halos ◽  
Weak Constraints ◽  
Velocity Bias

Context. An X-ray survey with the XMM-Newton telescope, XMM-XXL, has identified hundreds of galaxy groups and clusters in two 25 deg2 fields. Combining spectroscopic and X-ray observations in one field, we determine how the kinetic energy of galaxies scales with hot gas temperature and also, by imposing prior constraints on the relative energies of galaxies and dark matter, infer a power-law scaling of total mass with temperature. Aims. Our goals are: i) to determine parameters of the scaling between galaxy velocity dispersion and X-ray temperature, T300 kpc, for the halos hosting XXL-selected clusters, and; ii) to infer the log-mean scaling of total halo mass with temperature, ⟨lnM200 | T300 kpc, z⟩. Methods. We applied an ensemble velocity likelihood to a sample of >1500 spectroscopic redshifts within 132 spectroscopically confirmed clusters with redshifts z < 0.6 to model, ⟨lnσgal | T300 kpc, z⟩, where σgal is the velocity dispersion of XXL cluster member galaxies and T300 kpc is a 300 kpc aperture temperature. To infer total halo mass we used a precise virial relation for massive halos calibrated by N-body simulations along with a single degree of freedom summarising galaxy velocity bias with respect to dark matter. Results. For the XXL-N cluster sample, we find σgal ∝ T300 kpc0.63±0.05, a slope significantly steeper than the self-similar expectation of 0.5. Assuming scale-independent galaxy velocity bias, we infer a mean logarithmic mass at a given X-ray temperature and redshift, 〈ln(E(z)M200/1014 M⊙)|T300 kpc, z〉 = πT + αT ln (T300 kpc/Tp) + βT ln (E(z)/E(zp)) using pivot values kTp = 2.2 keV and zp = 0.25, with normalization πT = 0.45 ± 0.24 and slope αT = 1.89 ± 0.15. We obtain only weak constraints on redshift evolution, βT = −1.29 ± 1.14. Conclusions. The ratio of specific energies in hot gas and galaxies is scale dependent. Ensemble spectroscopic analysis is a viable method to infer mean scaling relations, particularly for the numerous low mass systems with small numbers of spectroscopic members per system. Galaxy velocity bias is the dominant systematic uncertainty in dynamical mass estimates.

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