Münster 2017 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 79: Suche nach Dunkler Materie 3 (Direkter Nachweis)

T 79.6: Talk

Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 18:10–18:25, VSH 19

Purity control of the XENON1T gas inventory — Constanze Hasterok, Sebastian Lindemann, •Veronica Pizzella, and Hardy Simgen for the XENON collaboration — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK), Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

The XENON1T experiment uses xenon nuclei as scattering target for dark matter particles. It employs a total of 3.5 tonnes of liquid xenon, from which 2 tonnes are in a Time Projection Chamber (TPC). For the success of the experiment, it is necessary to use xenon with low concentration impurities. The dangerous ones are: radioactive impurities such as Kr-85 and Rn-222, since they increase the background; electronegative molecules such as oxygen and water, since they lower the electron life-time and disrupt the well functioning of the TPC; helium, since it can harm the photomultipliers (PMTs). In this presentation, the measurements of the xenon inventory prior to filling the XENON1T detector for the first time will be discussed using the technique of gas chromatography. A dedicated measurement of the helium concentration will be introduced, and the results before and after a gas phase distillation of the xenon inventory will be illustrated.