Direct Measurement of the Bubble Nucleation Energy Threshold in a CF3I Bubble Chamber

Journal Article · Tue Jul 30 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Physical Review D

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.88.021101· OSTI ID:1091428

Behnke, E. ^[1]; Benjamin, T. ^[1]; Brice, S. J. ^[2]; Broemmelsiek, D. ^[2]; Collar, J. I. ^[3]; Cooper, P. S. ^[2]; Crisler, M. ^[2]; Dahl, C. E. ^[4]; Fustin, D. ^[3]; Hall, Jeter C. ^[5]; Harnish, C. ^[1]; Levine, I. ^[1]; Lippincott, W. H. ^[2]; Moan, T. ^[1]; Nania, T. ^[1]; Neilson, R. ^[3]; Ramberg, E. ^[2]; Robinson, A. E. ^[3]; Ruschman, M. ^[2]; Sonnenschein, Andrew ^[2] ; Vazquez-Jauregui, E. ^[6]; RIvera, R. A. ^[2]; Uplegger, L. ^[2]

---

1. Indiana Univ. South Bend, IN (United States)
2. Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
3. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
4. Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
5. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
6. SNOLAB, Sudbury, ON (Canada)

Here, we measured the energy threshold and efficiency for bubble nucleation from iodine recoils in a CF₃I bubble chamber in the energy range of interest for a dark matter search. These interactions cannot be probed by standard neutron calibration methods, so we develop a new technique by observing the elastic scattering of 12 GeV/c negative pions. The pions are tracked with a silicon pixel telescope and the reconstructed scattering angle provides a measure of the nuclear recoil kinetic energy. The bubble chamber was operated with a nominal threshold of (13.6±0.6) keV. Interpretation of the results depends on the response to fluorine and carbon recoils, but in general we find agreement with the predictions of the classical bubble-nucleation theory. Moreover, this measurement confirms the applicability of CF₃I as a target for spin-independent dark matter interactions and represents a novel technique for calibration of superheated fluid detectors.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1091428
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-95446
• Journal Information: Physical Review D, Vol. 88, Issue 2; ISSN 2470-0010
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS