Enhancing liquid argon scintillation with xenon doping for 0nbb searches
ORAL
Abstract
The LEGEND-1000 experiment aims to search for the extremely rare neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) of ⁷⁶Ge using isotopically enriched high-purity germanium detectors. These detectors are arranged in vertical strings and operated within a large volume of liquid argon, which serves as an active veto to suppress background events that deposit energy in the surrounding medium. The scintillation light yield of liquid argon can be significantly enhanced by doping it with a small concentration of xenon, potentially improving the performance of the argon veto system.
To study this effect, the BACoN (Big Argon Counter of Neutrons) R&D setup at the University of New Mexico is being used to investigate the scintillation properties of xenon-doped liquid argon. The experiment consists of a 320-liter cylindrical cryostat filled with liquid argon, equipped with a single upward-facing PMT at the bottom and twelve SiPMs arranged in four rows.
In this talk, I will report on the current status of the BACoN analysis, including recent measurements in xenon-loaded argon and preliminary observations relevant to the potential enhancement of the light yield. These results will help assess the feasibility and impact for improving background suppression in LEGEND-1000.
To study this effect, the BACoN (Big Argon Counter of Neutrons) R&D setup at the University of New Mexico is being used to investigate the scintillation properties of xenon-doped liquid argon. The experiment consists of a 320-liter cylindrical cryostat filled with liquid argon, equipped with a single upward-facing PMT at the bottom and twelve SiPMs arranged in four rows.
In this talk, I will report on the current status of the BACoN analysis, including recent measurements in xenon-loaded argon and preliminary observations relevant to the potential enhancement of the light yield. These results will help assess the feasibility and impact for improving background suppression in LEGEND-1000.
*This work is supported by the U.S. DOE Office of Science, the NSF and the LANL LDRD programs.
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Presenters
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Carmen Romo Luque
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)