Analysis of VUV Scintillation from Radon Decays in a 10kg-Scale Crystal Xenon Particle DetectorNew Submission

ORAL

Abstract

Radon progeny now constitute the leading background in WIMP-mass dark matter searches in liquid xenon. Crystalline xenon (CXe) has been shown to reduce radon decay chain backgrounds by 500x relative to liquid phase in a sub-kg detector, but the effectiveness as a particle detector at larger masses remains untested. We present the scintillation response of the CrystaLiZe 10kg-scale CXe detector following controlled radon injection prior to freezing. We discuss prospects for radon tagging and further background suppression. Future demonstration of success in both radon suppression and particle detection without signal losses at the 10kg-scale would pave the way to a tonne-scale CXe dark matter detector limited only by rare neutrino backgrounds.

*Funding for this work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics under Contract Number DE-SC0025357.

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Presenters

  • Ayden T Gertiser

    • University of Texas at Austin

Authors

  • Ayden T Gertiser

    • University of Texas at Austin

  • Scott Kravitz

    • The University of Texas at Austin

  • Gregory Sehr

    • The University of Texas at Austin

  • Chloe O'Brien

    • University of Texas at Austin

  • Max Wieczorek

    • University of Texas at Austin

  • Dan J Hunt

    • The University of Texas at Austin
    • University of Texas at Austin