Search for: All records

Abstract A double-phase argon Time Projection Chamber (TPC), with an active mass of 185 g, has been designed and constructed for the Recoil Directionality (ReD) experiment. The aim of the ReD project is to investigate the directional sensitivity of argon-based TPCs via columnar recombination to nuclear recoils in the energy range of interest (20– $$200\,\hbox {keV}_{nr}$$ 200 keV nr ) for direct dark matter searches. The key novel feature of the ReD TPC is a readout system based on cryogenic Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), which are employed and operated continuously for the first time in an argon TPC. Over the course of 6 months, the ReD TPC was commissioned and characterised under various operating conditions using $$\gamma $$ γ -ray and neutron sources, demonstrating remarkable stability of the optical sensors and reproducibility of the results. The scintillation gain and ionisation amplification of the TPC were measured to be $$g_1 = (0.194 \pm 0.013)$$ g 1 = ( 0.194 ± 0.013 ) photoelectrons/photon and $$g_2 = (20.0 \pm 0.9)$$ g 2 = ( 20.0 ± 0.9 ) photoelectrons/electron, respectively. The ratio of the ionisation to scintillation signals (S2/S1), instrumental for the positive identification of a candidate directional signal induced by WIMPs, has been investigated for both nuclear and electron recoils. At a drift field of 183 V/cm, an S2/S1 dispersion of 12% was measured for nuclear recoils of approximately 60– $$90\,\hbox {keV}_{nr}$$ 90 keV nr , as compared to 18% for electron recoils depositing 60 keV of energy. The detector performance reported here meets the requirements needed to achieve the principal scientific goals of the ReD experiment in the search for a directional effect due to columnar recombination. A phenomenological parameterisation of the recombination probability in LAr is presented and employed for modeling the dependence of scintillation quenching and charge yield on the drift field for electron recoils between 50–500 keV and fields up to 1000 V/cm. 

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. 

Abstract The Aria cryogenic distillation plant, located in Sardinia, Italy, is a key component of the DarkSide-20k experimental program for WIMP dark matter searches at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. Aria is designed to purify the argon, extracted from underground wells in Colorado, USA, and used as the DarkSide-20k target material, to detector-grade quality. In this paper, we report the first measurement of argon isotopic separation by distillation with the 26 m tall Aria prototype. We discuss the measurement of the operating parameters of the column and the observation of the simultaneous separation of the three stable argon isotopes: $${}^{36}\hbox {Ar}$$ 36 Ar , $${}^{38}\textrm{Ar}$$ 38 Ar , and $${}^{40}\textrm{Ar}$$ 40 Ar . We also provide a detailed comparison of the experimental results with commercial process simulation software. This measurement of isotopic separation of argon is a significant achievement for the project, building on the success of the initial demonstration of isotopic separation of nitrogen using the same equipment in 2019. 

Measurements of the $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$using azimuthal correlations with the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. A four-particle correlation approach [ALICE Collaboration, ] is used to quantify the effects of flow angle and magnitude fluctuations separately. This paper extends previous studies to additional centrality intervals and provides measurements of the $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$with two-particle correlations. Significant $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent fluctuations of the ${\vec{V}}_2$flow vector in Pb–Pb collisions are found across different centrality ranges, with the largest fluctuations of up to $\sim 15\%$being present in the 5% most central collisions. In parallel, no evidence of significant $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent fluctuations of ${\vec{V}}_3$or ${\vec{V}}_4$is found. Additionally, evidence of flow angle and magnitude fluctuations is observed with more than $5\sigma$significance in central collisions. These observations in $\text{Pb–Pb}$collisions indicate where the classical picture of hydrodynamic modeling with a common symmetry plane breaks down. This has implications for hard probes at high $p_{\mathrm{T}}$, which might be biased by $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent flow angle fluctuations of at least 23% in central collisions. Given the presented results, existing theoretical models should be reexamined to improve our understanding of initial conditions, quark–gluon plasma properties, and the dynamic evolution of the created system. ©2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2024CERN 

$K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs may be produced in photonuclear collisions, either from the decays of photoproduced $\varphi \left(1020\right)$mesons or directly as nonresonant $K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs. Measurements of $K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction probe the couplings between the $\varphi \left(1020\right)$and charged kaons with photons and nuclear targets. The kaon-proton scattering occurs at energies far above those available elsewhere. We present the first measurement of coherent photoproduction of $K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs on lead ions in ultraperipheral collisions using the ALICE detector, including the first investigation of direct $K^{+}{K}^{-}$production. There is significant $K^{+}{K}^{-}$production at low transverse momentum, consistent with coherent photoproduction on lead targets. In the mass range $1.1<M_{KK}<1.4\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$above the $\varphi \left(1020\right)$resonance, for rapidity $\left|y_{KK}\right|<0.8$and $p_{T,KK}<0.1\mathrm{GeV}/c$, the measured coherent photoproduction cross section is $\mathrm{d}\sigma /\mathrm{d}y=3.37\pm 0.61\left(\text{stat}\right)\pm 0.15\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\mathrm{mb}$. The center-of-mass energy per nucleon of the photon-nucleus (Pb) system $W_{\gamma \mathrm{Pb},n}$ranges from 33 to 188 GeV, far higher than previous measurements on heavy-nucleus targets. The cross section is larger than expected for $\varphi \left(1020\right)$photoproduction alone. The mass spectrum is fit to a cocktail consisting of $\varphi \left(1020\right)$decays, direct $K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction, and interference between the two. The confidence regions for the amplitude and relative phase angle for direct $K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction are presented. © 2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2024CERN