NEXT Collaboration(Cebrian, S. et al), Perez, J., Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J., Botas, A., Carcel, S., et al. (2017). Radiopurity assessment of the energy readout for the NEXT double beta decay experiment. J. Instrum., 12, T08003–20pp.
Abstract: The “Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon Time-Projection Chamber” (NEXT) experiment intends to investigate the neutrinoless double beta decay of Xe-136, and therefore requires a severe suppression of potential backgrounds. An extensive material screening and selection process was undertaken to quantify the radioactivity of the materials used in the experiment. Separate energy and tracking readout planes using different sensors allow us to combine the measurement of the topological signature of the event for background discrimination with the energy resolution optimization. The design of radiopure readout planes, in direct contact with the gas detector medium, was especially challenging since the required components typically have activities too large for experiments demanding ultra-low background conditions. After studying the tracking plane, here the radiopurity control of the energy plane is presented, mainly based on gamma-ray spectroscopy using ultra-low background germanium detectors at the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc (Spain). All the available units of the selected model of photomultiplier have been screened together with most of the components for the bases, enclosures and windows. According to these results for the activity of the relevant radioisotopes, the selected components of the energy plane would give a contribution to the overall background level in the region of interest of at most 2.4 x 10(-4) counts keV(-1) kg(-1) y(-1), satisfying the sensitivity requirements of the NEXT experiment.
|
NEXT Collaboration(Simon, A. et al), Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Botas, A., Carcel, S., et al. (2017). Application and performance of an ML-EM algorithm in NEXT. J. Instrum., 12, P08009–22pp.
Abstract: The goal of the NEXT experiment is the observation of neutrinoless double beta decay in Xe-136 using a gaseous xenon TPC with electroluminescent amplification and specialized photodetector arrays for calorimetry and tracking. The NEXT Collaboration is exploring a number of reconstruction algorithms to exploit the full potential of the detector. This paper describes one of them: the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization (ML-EM) method, a generic iterative algorithm to find maximum-likelihood estimates of parameters that has been applied to solve many different types of complex inverse problems. In particular, we discuss a bi-dimensional version of the method in which the photosensor signals integrated over time are used to reconstruct a transverse projection of the event. First results show that, when applied to detector simulation data, the algorithm achieves nearly optimal energy resolution (better than 0.5% FWHM at the Q value of 136Xe) for events distributed over the full active volume of the TPC.
|
NEXT Collaboration(Simon, A. et al), Felkai, R., Martinez-Lema, G., Sorel, M., Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Alvarez, V., et al. (2018). Electron drift properties in high pressure gaseous xenon. J. Instrum., 13, P07013–23pp.
Abstract: Gaseous time projection chambers (TPC) are a very attractive detector technology for particle tracking. Characterization of both drift velocity and diffusion is of great importance to correctly assess their tracking capabilities. NEXT-White is a High Pressure Xenon gas TPC with electroluminescent amplification, a 1:2 scale model of the future NEXT-100 detector, which will be dedicated to neutrinoless double beta decay searches. NEXT-White has been operating at Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) since December 2016. The drift parameters have been measured using Kr-83(m) for a range of reduced drift fields at two different pressure regimes, namely 7.2 bar and 9.1 bar. The results have been compared with Magboltz simulations. Agreement at the 5% level or better has been found for drift velocity, longitudinal diffusion and transverse diffusion.
|
NEXT Collaboration(Rogers, L. et al), Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Botas, A., Carcel, S., Carrion, J. V., et al. (2018). High voltage insulation and gas absorption of polymers in high pressure argon and xenon gases. J. Instrum., 13, P10002–19pp.
Abstract: High pressure gas time projection chambers (HPGTPCs) are made with a variety of materials, many of which still await proper characterization in high pressure noble gas environments. As HPGTPCs increase in size toward ton-scale detectors, assemblies become larger and more complex, creating a need for detailed understanding of how structural supports and high voltage insulators behave. This includes identification of materials with predictable mechanical properties and without surface charge accumulation that may lead to field deformation or sparking. This paper explores the mechanical and electrical effects of high pressure gas environments on insulating polymers PTFE, HDPE, PEEK, POM and UHMW in argon and xenon, including studying gas absorption, swelling and high voltage insulation strength.
|
NEXT Collaboration(Martinez-Lema, G. et al), Palmeiro, B., Botas, A., Laing, A., Renner, J., Simon, A., et al. (2018). Calibration of the NEXT-White detector using Kr-83m decays. J. Instrum., 13, P10014–21pp.
Abstract: The NEXT-White (NEW) detector is currently the largest radio-pure high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber with electroluminescent readout in the world. It has been operating at Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc (LSC) since October 2016. This paper describes the calibrations performed using Kr-83m decays during a long run taken from March to November 2017 (Run II). Krypton calibrations are used to correct for the finite drift-electron lifetime as well as for the dependence of the measured energy on the event transverse position which is caused by variations in solid angle coverage both for direct and reflected light and edge effects. After producing calibration maps to correct for both effects we measure an excellent energy resolution for 41.5 keV point-like deposits of (4.553 +/- 0.010 (stat.) +/- 0.324 (sys.)) % FWHM in the full chamber and (3.804 +/- 0.013 (stat.) +/- 0.112 (sys.)) % FWHM in a restricted fiducial volume. Using naive 1/root E scaling, these values translate into resolutions of (0.5916 +/- 0.0014 (stat.) +/- 0.0421 (sys.)) % FWHM and (0.4943 +/- 0.0017 (stat.) +/- 0.0146 (sys.)) % FWHM at the Q(beta beta) energy of xenon double beta decay (2458 keV), well within range of our target value of 1%.
|
NEXT Collaboration(Renner, J. et al), Martinez-Lema, G., Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Botas, A., Carcel, S., et al. (2018). Initial results on energy resolution of the NEXT-White detector. J. Instrum., 13, P10020–14pp.
Abstract: One of the major goals of the NEXT-White (NEW) detector is to demonstrate the energy resolution that an electroluminescent high pressure xenon TPC can achieve for high energy tracks. For this purpose, energy calibrations with Cs-137 and Th-232 sources have been carried out as a part of the long run taken with the detector during most of 2017. This paper describes the initial results obtained with those calibrations, showing excellent linearity and an energy resolution that extrapolates to approximately 1% FWHM at Q(beta beta).
|
NEXT Collaboration(Monrabal, F. et al), Laing, A., Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Carcel, S., Carrion, J. V., et al. (2018). The NEXT White (NEW) detector. J. Instrum., 13, P12010–38pp.
Abstract: Conceived to host 5 kg of xenon at a pressure of 15 bar in the fiducial volume, the NEXT-White apparatus is currently the largest high pressure xenon gas TPC using electroluminescent amplification in the world. It is also a 1:2 scale model of the NEXT-100 detector for Xe-136 beta beta 0 nu decay searches, scheduled to start operations in 2019. Both detectors measure the energy of the event using a plane of photomultipliers located behind a transparent cathode. They can also reconstruct the trajectories of charged tracks in the dense gas of the TPC with the help of a plane of silicon photomultipliers located behind the anode. A sophisticated gas system, common to both detectors, allows the high gas purity needed to guarantee a long electron lifetime. NEXT-White has been operating since October 2016 at the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc (LSC), in Spain. This paper describes the detector and associated infrastructures, as well as the main aspects of its initial operation.
|
NEXT Collaboration(McDonald, A. D. et al), Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Carcel, S., Carrion, J. V., Diaz, J., et al. (2019). Electron drift and longitudinal diffusion in high pressure xenon-helium gas mixtures. J. Instrum., 14, P08009–19pp.
Abstract: We report new measurements of the drift velocity and longitudinal diffusion coefficients of electrons in pure xenon gas and in xenon-helium gas mixtures at 1-9 bar and electric field strengths of 50-300 V/cm. In pure xenon we find excellent agreement with world data at all E/P, for both drift velocity and diffusion coefficients. However, a larger value of the longitudinal diffusion coefficient than theoretical predictions is found at low E/P in pure xenon, below the range of reduced fields usually probed by TPC experiments. A similar effect is observed in xenon-helium gas mixtures at somewhat larger E/P. Drift velocities in xenon-helium mixtures are found to be theoretically well predicted. Although longitudinal diffusion in xenon-helium mixtures is found to be larger than anticipated, extrapolation based on the measured longitudinal diffusion coefficients suggest that the use of helium additives to reduce transverse diffusion in xenon gas remains a promising prospect.
|
NEXT Collaboration(Woodruff, K. et al), Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Carcel, S., Carrion, J. V., Diaz, J., et al. (2020). Radio frequency and DC high voltage breakdown of high pressure helium, argon, and xenon. J. Instrum., 15(4), P04022–15pp.
Abstract: Motivated by the possibility of guiding daughter ions from double beta decay events to single-ion sensors for barium tagging, the NEXT collaboration is developing a program of R&D to test radio frequency (RF) carpets for ion transport in high pressure xenon gas. This would require carpet functionality in regimes at higher pressures than have been previously reported, implying correspondingly larger electrode voltages than in existing systems. This mode of operation appears plausible for contemporary RF-carpet geometries due to the higher predicted breakdown strength of high pressure xenon relative to low pressure helium, the working medium in most existing RF carpet devices. In this paper we present the first measurements of the high voltage dielectric strength of xenon gas at high pressure and at the relevant RF frequencies for ion transport (in the 10MHz range), as well as new DC and RF measurements of the dielectric strengths of high pressure argon and helium gases at small gap sizes. We find breakdown voltages that are compatible with stable RF carpet operation given the gas, pressure, voltage, materials and geometry of interest.
|
NEXT Collaboration, Carcel, S., Carrion, J. V., Felkai, R., Kekic, M., Lopez-March, N., et al. (2020). Mitigation of backgrounds from cosmogenic Xe-137 in xenon gas experiments using He-3 neutron capture. J. Phys. G, 47(7), 075001–17pp.
Abstract: Xe-136 is used as the target medium for many experiments searching for 0 nu beta beta. Despite underground operation, cosmic muons that reach the laboratory can produce spallation neutrons causing activation of detector materials. A potential background that is difficult to veto using muon tagging comes in the form of Xe-137 created by the capture of neutrons on Xe-136. This isotope decays via beta decay with a half-life of 3.8 min and a Q(beta) of similar to 4.16 MeV. This work proposes and explores the concept of adding a small percentage of He-3 to xenon as a means to capture thermal neutrons and reduce the number of activations in the detector volume. When using this technique we find the contamination from Xe-137 activation can be reduced to negligible levels in tonne and multi-tonne scale high pressure gas xenon neutrinoless double beta decay experiments running at any depth in an underground laboratory.
|
