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Title: Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers

Abstract

We present a comprehensive analysis of electronic recoil vs. nuclear recoil discrimination in liquid/gas xenon time projection chambers, using calibration data from the 2013 and 2014-16 runs of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment. We observe strong charge-to-light discrimination enhancement with increased event energy. For events with S1 = 120 detected photons, i.e. equivalent to a nuclear recoil energy of ~100 keV, we observe an electronic recoil background acceptance of <10–5 at a nuclear recoil signal acceptance of 50%. We also observe modest electric field dependence of the discrimination power, which peaks at a field of around 300 V/cm over the range of fields explored in this study (50-500 V/cm). In the WIMP search region of S1 = 1-80 phd, the minimum electronic recoil leakage we observe is (7.3 ± 0.6) 10–4, which is obtained for a drift field of 240-290 V/cm. Pulse shape discrimination is utilized to improve our results, and we find that, at low energies and low fields, there is an additional reduction in background leakage by a factor of up to 3. We develop an empirical model for recombination fluctuations which, when used alongside the Noble Element Scintillation Technique (NEST) simulation package, correctly reproduces the skewnessmore » of the electronic recoil data. We use this updated simulation to study the width of the electronic recoil band, finding that its dominant contribution comes from electron-ion recombination fluctuations, followed in magnitude of contribution by fluctuations in the S1 signal, fluctuations in the S2 signal, and fluctuations in the total number of quanta produced for a given energy deposition.« less

Authors:
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Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Contributing Org.:
LUX Collaboration
OSTI Identifier:
1616984
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1779200; OSTI ID: 1835021; OSTI ID: 1839684
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-826582
Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0010; ark:/13030/qt7f8407qn; TRN: US2106695
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515; SC0019066; FG01-91ER40618; FG02-11ER41738; FG02-91ER40674; SC0006605; FG02-08ER41549; FG02-95ER40917; AC52-07NA27344; FG02-91ER40688; AC05-06OR23100; SC0010010; NA0000979; SC0015535; PTDC/FIS-NUC/1525/2014; SC005336; M126369B; T93036D; N50449X; R504737; P006795; RA0350; PHY-1312561; PHY-1004661; PHY-0801536; PHY-1347449; PHY-1003660; PHY-1505868; PHY-1636738; PHY-0750671; PHY-1102470; SC0020216; SC0008475
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review D
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 102; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0010
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS

Citation Formats

Akerib, D.  S., Alsum, S., Araújo, H.  M., Bai, X., Balajthy, J., Baxter, A., Bernard, E.  P., Bernstein, A., Biesiadzinski, T.  P., Boulton, E.  M., Boxer, B., Brás, P., Burdin, S., Byram, D., Carmona-Benitez, M.  C., Chan, C., Cutter, J.  E., de Viveiros, L., Druszkiewicz, E., Fan, A., Fiorucci, S., Gaitskell, R.  J., Ghag, C., Gilchriese, M.  G. D., Gwilliam, C., Hall, C.  R., Haselschwardt, S.  J., Hertel, S.  A., Hogan, D.  P., Horn, M., Huang, D.  Q., Ignarra, C.  M., Jacobsen, R.  G., Jahangir, O., Ji, W., Kamdin, K., Kazkaz, K., Khaitan, D., Korolkova, E.  V., Kravitz, S., Kudryavtsev, V.  A., Leason, E., Lenardo, B.  G., Lesko, K.  T., Liao, J., Lin, J., Lindote, A., Lopes, M.  I., Manalaysay, A., Mannino, R.  L., Marangou, N., McKinsey, D.  N., Mei, D. -M., Moongweluwan, M., Morad, J.  A., Murphy, A.  St. J., Naylor, A., Nehrkorn, C., Nelson, H.  N., Neves, F., Nilima, A., Oliver-Mallory, K.  C., Palladino, K.  J., Pease, E.  K., Riffard, Q., Rischbieter, G.  R. C., Rhyne, C., Rossiter, P., Shaw, S., Shutt, T.  A., Silva, C., Solmaz, M., Solovov, V.  N., Sorensen, P., Sumner, T.  J., Szydagis, M., Taylor, D.  J., Taylor, R., Taylor, W.  C., Tennyson, B.  P., Terman, P.  A., Tiedt, D.  R., To, W.  H., Tvrznikova, L., Utku, U., Uvarov, S., Vacheret, A., Velan, V., Webb, R.  C., White, J.  T., Whitis, T.  J., Witherell, M.  S., Wolfs, F.  L. H., Woodward, D., Xu, J., and Zhang, C. Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1103/physrevd.102.112002.
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Akerib, D.  S., Alsum, S., Araújo, H.  M., Bai, X., Balajthy, J., Baxter, A., Bernard, E.  P., Bernstein, A., Biesiadzinski, T.  P., Boulton, E.  M., Boxer, B., Brás, P., Burdin, S., Byram, D., Carmona-Benitez, M.  C., Chan, C., Cutter, J.  E., de Viveiros, L., Druszkiewicz, E., Fan, A., Fiorucci, S., Gaitskell, R.  J., Ghag, C., Gilchriese, M.  G. D., Gwilliam, C., Hall, C.  R., Haselschwardt, S.  J., Hertel, S.  A., Hogan, D.  P., Horn, M., Huang, D.  Q., Ignarra, C.  M., Jacobsen, R.  G., Jahangir, O., Ji, W., Kamdin, K., Kazkaz, K., Khaitan, D., Korolkova, E.  V., Kravitz, S., Kudryavtsev, V.  A., Leason, E., Lenardo, B.  G., Lesko, K.  T., Liao, J., Lin, J., Lindote, A., Lopes, M.  I., Manalaysay, A., Mannino, R.  L., Marangou, N., McKinsey, D.  N., Mei, D. -M., Moongweluwan, M., Morad, J.  A., Murphy, A.  St. J., Naylor, A., Nehrkorn, C., Nelson, H.  N., Neves, F., Nilima, A., Oliver-Mallory, K.  C., Palladino, K.  J., Pease, E.  K., Riffard, Q., Rischbieter, G.  R. C., Rhyne, C., Rossiter, P., Shaw, S., Shutt, T.  A., Silva, C., Solmaz, M., Solovov, V.  N., Sorensen, P., Sumner, T.  J., Szydagis, M., Taylor, D.  J., Taylor, R., Taylor, W.  C., Tennyson, B.  P., Terman, P.  A., Tiedt, D.  R., To, W.  H., Tvrznikova, L., Utku, U., Uvarov, S., Vacheret, A., Velan, V., Webb, R.  C., White, J.  T., Whitis, T.  J., Witherell, M.  S., Wolfs, F.  L. H., Woodward, D., Xu, J., & Zhang, C. Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.102.112002
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Akerib, D.  S., Alsum, S., Araújo, H.  M., Bai, X., Balajthy, J., Baxter, A., Bernard, E.  P., Bernstein, A., Biesiadzinski, T.  P., Boulton, E.  M., Boxer, B., Brás, P., Burdin, S., Byram, D., Carmona-Benitez, M.  C., Chan, C., Cutter, J.  E., de Viveiros, L., Druszkiewicz, E., Fan, A., Fiorucci, S., Gaitskell, R.  J., Ghag, C., Gilchriese, M.  G. D., Gwilliam, C., Hall, C.  R., Haselschwardt, S.  J., Hertel, S.  A., Hogan, D.  P., Horn, M., Huang, D.  Q., Ignarra, C.  M., Jacobsen, R.  G., Jahangir, O., Ji, W., Kamdin, K., Kazkaz, K., Khaitan, D., Korolkova, E.  V., Kravitz, S., Kudryavtsev, V.  A., Leason, E., Lenardo, B.  G., Lesko, K.  T., Liao, J., Lin, J., Lindote, A., Lopes, M.  I., Manalaysay, A., Mannino, R.  L., Marangou, N., McKinsey, D.  N., Mei, D. -M., Moongweluwan, M., Morad, J.  A., Murphy, A.  St. J., Naylor, A., Nehrkorn, C., Nelson, H.  N., Neves, F., Nilima, A., Oliver-Mallory, K.  C., Palladino, K.  J., Pease, E.  K., Riffard, Q., Rischbieter, G.  R. C., Rhyne, C., Rossiter, P., Shaw, S., Shutt, T.  A., Silva, C., Solmaz, M., Solovov, V.  N., Sorensen, P., Sumner, T.  J., Szydagis, M., Taylor, D.  J., Taylor, R., Taylor, W.  C., Tennyson, B.  P., Terman, P.  A., Tiedt, D.  R., To, W.  H., Tvrznikova, L., Utku, U., Uvarov, S., Vacheret, A., Velan, V., Webb, R.  C., White, J.  T., Whitis, T.  J., Witherell, M.  S., Wolfs, F.  L. H., Woodward, D., Xu, J., and Zhang, C. Tue . "Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.102.112002. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1616984.
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@article{osti_1616984,
title = {Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers},
author = {Akerib, D.  S. and Alsum, S. and Araújo, H.  M. and Bai, X. and Balajthy, J. and Baxter, A. and Bernard, E.  P. and Bernstein, A. and Biesiadzinski, T.  P. and Boulton, E.  M. and Boxer, B. and Brás, P. and Burdin, S. and Byram, D. and Carmona-Benitez, M.  C. and Chan, C. and Cutter, J.  E. and de Viveiros, L. and Druszkiewicz, E. and Fan, A. and Fiorucci, S. and Gaitskell, R.  J. and Ghag, C. and Gilchriese, M.  G. D. and Gwilliam, C. and Hall, C.  R. and Haselschwardt, S.  J. and Hertel, S.  A. and Hogan, D.  P. and Horn, M. and Huang, D.  Q. and Ignarra, C.  M. and Jacobsen, R.  G. and Jahangir, O. and Ji, W. and Kamdin, K. and Kazkaz, K. and Khaitan, D. and Korolkova, E.  V. and Kravitz, S. and Kudryavtsev, V.  A. and Leason, E. and Lenardo, B.  G. and Lesko, K.  T. and Liao, J. and Lin, J. and Lindote, A. and Lopes, M.  I. and Manalaysay, A. and Mannino, R.  L. and Marangou, N. and McKinsey, D.  N. and Mei, D. -M. and Moongweluwan, M. and Morad, J.  A. and Murphy, A.  St. J. and Naylor, A. and Nehrkorn, C. and Nelson, H.  N. and Neves, F. and Nilima, A. and Oliver-Mallory, K.  C. and Palladino, K.  J. and Pease, E.  K. and Riffard, Q. and Rischbieter, G.  R. C. and Rhyne, C. and Rossiter, P. and Shaw, S. and Shutt, T.  A. and Silva, C. and Solmaz, M. and Solovov, V.  N. and Sorensen, P. and Sumner, T.  J. and Szydagis, M. and Taylor, D.  J. and Taylor, R. and Taylor, W.  C. and Tennyson, B.  P. and Terman, P.  A. and Tiedt, D.  R. and To, W.  H. and Tvrznikova, L. and Utku, U. and Uvarov, S. and Vacheret, A. and Velan, V. and Webb, R.  C. and White, J.  T. and Whitis, T.  J. and Witherell, M.  S. and Wolfs, F.  L. H. and Woodward, D. and Xu, J. and Zhang, C.},
abstractNote = {We present a comprehensive analysis of electronic recoil vs. nuclear recoil discrimination in liquid/gas xenon time projection chambers, using calibration data from the 2013 and 2014-16 runs of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment. We observe strong charge-to-light discrimination enhancement with increased event energy. For events with S1 = 120 detected photons, i.e. equivalent to a nuclear recoil energy of ~100 keV, we observe an electronic recoil background acceptance of <10–5 at a nuclear recoil signal acceptance of 50%. We also observe modest electric field dependence of the discrimination power, which peaks at a field of around 300 V/cm over the range of fields explored in this study (50-500 V/cm). In the WIMP search region of S1 = 1-80 phd, the minimum electronic recoil leakage we observe is (7.3 ± 0.6) 10–4, which is obtained for a drift field of 240-290 V/cm. Pulse shape discrimination is utilized to improve our results, and we find that, at low energies and low fields, there is an additional reduction in background leakage by a factor of up to 3. We develop an empirical model for recombination fluctuations which, when used alongside the Noble Element Scintillation Technique (NEST) simulation package, correctly reproduces the skewness of the electronic recoil data. We use this updated simulation to study the width of the electronic recoil band, finding that its dominant contribution comes from electron-ion recombination fluctuations, followed in magnitude of contribution by fluctuations in the S1 signal, fluctuations in the S2 signal, and fluctuations in the total number of quanta produced for a given energy deposition.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevd.102.112002},
journal = {Physical Review D},
number = 11,
volume = 102,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}
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