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1. Calorimetric classification of track-like signatures in liquid argon TPCs using MicroBooNE data

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP12(2021)153  

   Abratenko, P.; An, R.; Anthony, J.; Asaadi, J.; Ashkenazi, A.; Balasubramanian, S.; Baller, B.; Barnes, C.; Barr, G.; Basque, V.; et al (December 2021, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A bstract The MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located at Fermilab is a neutrino experiment dedicated to the study of short-baseline oscillations, the measurements of neutrino cross sections in liquid argon, and to the research and development of this novel detector technology. Accurate and precise measurements of calorimetry are essential to the event reconstruction and are achieved by leveraging the TPC to measure deposited energy per unit length along the particle trajectory, with mm resolution. We describe the non-uniform calorimetric reconstruction performance in the detector, showing dependence on the angle of the particle trajectory. Such non-uniform reconstruction directly affects the performance of the particle identification algorithms which infer particle type from calorimetric measurements. This work presents a new particle identification method which accounts for and effectively addresses such non-uniformity. The newly developed method shows improved performance compared to previous algorithms, illustrated by a 93.7% proton selection efficiency and a 10% muon mis-identification rate, with a fairly loose selection of tracks performed on beam data. The performance is further demonstrated by identifying exclusive final states in ν μ CC interactions. While developed using MicroBooNE data and simulation, this method is easily applicable to future LArTPC experiments, such as SBND, ICARUS, and DUNE. 

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2. Calibration and simulation of ionization signal and electronics noise in the ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/01/P01032  

   Abratenko, P; Abrego-Martinez, N; Aduszkiewicz, A; Akbar, F; Aliaga_Soplin, L; Artero_Pons, M; Asaadi, J; Badgett, WF; Baibussinov, B; Behera, B; et al (January 2025, Journal of Instrumentation)

   Abstract The ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detector has been taking physics data since 2022 as part of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program. This paper details the equalization of the response to charge in the ICARUS time projection chamber (TPC), as well as data-driven tuning of the simulation of ionization charge signals and electronics noise. The equalization procedure removes non-uniformities in the ICARUS TPC response to charge in space and time. This work leverages the copious number of cosmic ray muons available to ICARUS at the surface. The ionization signal shape simulation applies a novel procedure that tunes the simulation to match what is measured in data. The end result of the equalization procedure and simulation tuning allows for a comparison of charge measurements in ICARUS between Monte Carlo simulation and data, showing good performance with minimal residual bias between the two. 

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3. Sensitivity to low-mass WIMPs with an improved liquid argon ionization response model within the DarkSide program

   https://doi.org/10.1103/x3vt-q676  

   Acerbi, F; Adhikari, P; Agnes, P; Ahmad, I; Albergo, S; Albuquerque, I F; Alexander, T; Alton, A K; Amaudruz, P; Angiolilli, M; et al (June 2026, Physical Review D)

   Dark matter detection experiments using liquid argon rely on a precise characterization of the ionization response to nuclear recoils, especially in the keV energy range relevant for light dark matter interactions. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis that combines new measurements from the ReD setup, part of the DarkSide experimental program, with calibration data from DarkSide-50, as well as results from the ARIS and SCENE experiments. These combined datasets enable improved constraints on atomic screening effects in the modeling of the ionization response of liquid argon to nuclear recoils. The analysis is performed within the Thomas-Imel recombination framework adopted in previous DarkSide studies, and is here further constrained by the inclusion of ReD data, which allow the screening function to be determined from calibration measurements. By including the updated ionization model into the DarkSide-50 analysis framework, we obtain stronger exclusion limits on low-mass weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) interactions, setting new world-leading constraints in the $1–3\mathrm{GeV}/{\mathrm{c}}^2$ WIMP mass range. Finally, we recast the sensitivity projections for the upcoming DarkSide-20k detector, demonstrating a significantly enhanced discovery potential for low-mass dark matter candidates. 

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4. Constraints on directionality effect of nuclear recoils in a liquid argon time projection chamber

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-12312-1  

   Agnes, P; et_al (January 2024, European physical journal C Particles and fields)

   Abstract The direct search for dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP) is performed by detecting nuclear recoils produced in a target material from the WIMP elastic scattering. The experimental identification of the direction of the WIMP-induced nuclear recoils is a crucial asset in this field, as it enables unmistakable modulation signatures for dark matter. The Recoil Directionality (ReD) experiment was designed to probe for such directional sensitivity in argon dual-phase time projection chambers (TPC), that are widely considered for current and future direct dark matter searches. The TPC of ReD was irradiated with neutrons at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud. Data were taken with nuclear recoils of known directions and kinetic energy of 72 keV, which is within the range of interest for WIMP-induced signals in argon. The direction-dependent liquid argon charge recombination model by Cataudella et al. was adopted and a likelihood statistical analysis was performed, which gave no indications of significant dependence of the detector response to the recoil direction. The aspect ratioRof the initial ionization cloud is$$R < 1.072$$ $R<1.072$ with 90 % confidence level. 

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5. The track-length extension fitting algorithm for energy measurement of interacting particles in liquid argon TPCs and its performance with ProtoDUNE-SP data

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/02/P02021  

   Abed_Abud, A; Abi, B; Acciarri, R; Acero, MA; Adames, MR; Adamov, G; Adamowski, M; Adams, D; Adinolfi, M; Adriano, C; et al (February 2025, Journal of Instrumentation)

   Abstract This paper introduces a novel track-length extension fitting algorithm for measuring the kinetic energies of inelastically interacting particles in liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). The algorithm finds the most probable offset in track length for a track-like object by comparing the measured ionization density as a function of position with a theoretical prediction of the energy loss as a function of the energy, including models of electron recombination and detector response. The algorithm can be used to measure the energies of particles that interact before they stop, such as charged pions that are absorbed by argon nuclei. The algorithm's energy measurement resolutions and fractional biases are presented as functions of particle kinetic energy and number of track hits using samples of stopping secondary charged pions in data collected by the ProtoDUNE-SP detector, and also in a detailed simulation. Additional studies describe the impact of thedE/dxmodel on energy measurement performance. The method described in this paper to characterize the energy measurement performance can be repeated in any LArTPC experiment using stopping secondary charged pions. 

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