Growth of 10kg-Scale Xenon Crystals for Particle Detection

ORAL

Abstract

Liquid xenon (LXe) detectors have reached world-leading sensitivities in the ever-going search for WIMP dark matter, though radioactive decays via the radon chain continue to be a leading background in these detectors. Crystal xenon (CXe) as a medium would prevent the diffusion of Rn, lowering radon backgrounds present in current LXe detectors dramatically. This work presents the design and operation of a 10kg-scale CXe detector- larger than any prior application of this technology. We present initial crystal growth, optical transparency studies, and discuss how the technology could be scaled to multi-tonne next generation xenon detectors.

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Presenters

  • Jackson Rowland

    University of Texas at Austin

Authors

  • Jackson Rowland

    University of Texas at Austin

  • Chloe O'Brien

    University of Texas at Austin

  • Gregory Sehr

    The University of Texas at Austin

  • Dan J Hunt

    The University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin

  • Scott Kravitz

    The University of Texas at Austin