Nucleation efficiency of nuclear recoils in bubble chambers

Abstract Bubble chambers using liquid xenon (and liquid argon) have been operated (resp. planned) by the Scintillating Bubble Chamber (SBC) collaboration for GeV-scale dark matter searches and CEνNS from reactors. This will require a robust calibration program of the nucleation efficiency of low-energy nuclear recoils in these target media. Such a program has been carried out by the PICO collaboration, which aims to directly detect dark matter using C3F8 bubble chambers. Neutron calibration data from mono-energetic neutron beam and Am-Be source has been collected and analyzed, leading to a global fit of a generic nucleation efficiency model for carbon and fluorine recoils, at thermodynamic thresholds of 2.45 and 3.29 keV. Fitting the many-dimensional model to the data (34 free parameters) is a non-trivial computational challenge, addressed with a custom Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach, which will be presented. Parametric MC studies undertaken to validate this methodology are also discussed. This fit paradigm demonstrated for the PICO calibration will be applied to existing and future scintillating bubble chamber calibration data.

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A Review of Basic Energy Reconstruction Techniques in Liquid Xenon and Argon Detectors for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics Using NEST

Instruments ◽

10.3390/instruments5010013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

Matthew Szydagis ◽

Grant A. Block ◽

Collin Farquhar ◽

Alexander J. Flesher ◽

Ekaterina S. Kozlova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dark Matter ◽

Neutrino Physics ◽

Electric Fields ◽

Direct Detection ◽

Profile Likelihood ◽

Liquid Argon ◽

Energy Scale ◽

Liquid Xenon ◽

Nuclear Recoils ◽

Available Information

Detectors based upon the noble elements, especially liquid xenon as well as liquid argon, as both single- and dual-phase types, require reconstruction of the energies of interacting particles, both in the field of direct detection of dark matter (weakly interacting massive particles WIMPs, axions, etc.) and in neutrino physics. Experimentalists, as well as theorists who reanalyze/reinterpret experimental data, have used a few different techniques over the past few decades. In this paper, we review techniques based on solely the primary scintillation channel, the ionization or secondary channel available at non-zero drift electric fields, and combined techniques that include a simple linear combination and weighted averages, with a brief discussion of the application of profile likelihood, maximum likelihood, and machine learning. Comparing results for electron recoils (beta and gamma interactions) and nuclear recoils (primarily from neutrons) from the Noble Element Simulation Technique (NEST) simulation to available data, we confirm that combining all available information generates higher-precision means, lower widths (energy resolution), and more symmetric shapes (approximately Gaussian) especially at keV-scale energies, with the symmetry even greater when thresholding is addressed. Near thresholds, bias from upward fluctuations matters. For MeV-GeV scales, if only one channel is utilized, an ionization-only-based energy scale outperforms scintillation; channel combination remains beneficial. We discuss here what major collaborations use.

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A Study of Nuclear Recoils in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber for the Direct Detection of WIMP Dark Matter

10.2172/1182552 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Huajie Cao

Keyword(s):

Dark Matter ◽

Time Projection Chamber ◽

Direct Detection ◽

Liquid Argon ◽

Nuclear Recoils ◽

Time Projection

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The DarkSide Multiton Detector for the Direct Dark Matter Search

Advances in High Energy Physics ◽

10.1155/2015/541362 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

C. E. Aalseth ◽

P. Agnes ◽

A. Alton ◽

K. Arisaka ◽

D. M. Asner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dark Matter ◽

Time Projection Chamber ◽

Liquid Argon ◽

Weakly Interacting Massive Particles ◽

Low Energy ◽

Background Suppression ◽

Dark Matter Search ◽

Nuclear Recoils ◽

Time Projection ◽

Direct Dark Matter

Although the existence of dark matter is supported by many evidences, based on astrophysical measurements, its nature is still completely unknown. One major candidate is represented by weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which could in principle be detected through their collisions with ordinary nuclei in a sensitive target, producing observable low-energy (<100 keV) nuclear recoils. The DarkSide program aims at the WIPMs detection using a liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr-TPC). In this paper we quickly review the DarkSide program focusing in particular on the next generation experiment DarkSide-G2, a 3.6-ton LAr-TPC. The different detector components are described as well as the improvements needed to scale the detector from DarkSide-50 (50 kg LAr-TPC) up to DarkSide-G2. Finally, the preliminary results on background suppression and expected sensitivity are presented.

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Recoil Directionality Experiment

EPJ Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/epjconf/201920901031 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 209 ◽

pp. 01031

Author(s):

S. Sanfilippo ◽

P. Agnes ◽

M. Arba ◽

M. Ave ◽

E. Baracchini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dark Matter ◽

Liquid Argon ◽

Current Status ◽

Directional Sensitivity ◽

Dual Phase ◽

Test Beam ◽

Nuclear Recoils ◽

Phase Liquid ◽

Frame Work ◽

Time Projection

Directional sensitivity to nuclear recoils could provide a smoking gun for a possible discovery of dark matter in the form of WIMPs. A hint of directional dependence of the response of a dual-phase liquid argon Time Projection Chamber was found in the SCENE experiment. Given the potential importance of such a capability in the frame work of dark matter searches, a new dedicated experiment, ReD (Recoil Directionality), was designed in the framework of the DarkSide Collaboration, in order to scrutinize this hint. This contribution will describe the performance of the detectors achieved during the first test-beam, the current status of ReD and the perspectives for physics measurements during the forthcoming beam-time.

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