Aachen 2019 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 85: Astroteilchenphysik: Methoden IV

T 85.5: Talk

Thursday, March 28, 2019, 17:00–17:15, S12

Ultra-low energy calibration of the XENON1T detector with an internal ³⁷Ar source — •Christopher Hils for the XENON collaboration — Institut für Physik & Exzellenzcluster PRISMA, J. Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany

XENON1T is the first ton-scale dual phase xenon Time Projection Chamber aiming at the direct detection of Dark Matter, which in 2018 set the most stringent constraints on the interaction cross-section between nucleons and Dark Matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles. Due to the size of the active volume and the excellent self shielding properties of xenon, the understanding of the detector response relies to a large extent on internal calibrations, based on ^83mKr and ²²⁰Rn gaseous isotopes diluted into the liquid xenon and distributed over the whole active volume. In this talk we report on the novel internal calibration isotope ³⁷Ar, produced with high purity by neutron capture in the TRIGA research reactor in Mainz, and introduced in XENON1T in October 2018: this isotope provides two (X-rays and Auger electrons) calibration lines at 2.8 keV and 270 eV that allowed an unprecedented study of the ultra-low energy response of the detector and its detection thresholds. After the calibration, the isotope has been efficiently removed by the XENON1T distillation column originally designed for krypton removal, opening the way for the adoption of this calibration technique in the upcoming XENONnT experiment.