Speaker
Description
Utilizing xenon as a dopant at the $10^{-5}$ level in the gas region of a dual-phase argon time projection chamber (TPC) presents the enticing prospects of faster and longer wavelength electroluminescence response to ionization electrons. This light can then be directly detected by UV-sensitive SiPMs without the use of fluorescent wavelength-shifting materials. These advantages would improve sensitivity to low energy nuclear recoils, which kinetically favor argon over xenon; examples include coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering (CENNS), and the possibility of light WIMP dark matter interactions. However, operating such a detector imposes the novel technical requirement of cryogenic systems which must prevent xenon from partitioning between the liquid and gas phases. This has compelled the development of CoHerent Ionization Limits in Liquid Argon and Xenon (CHILLAX), a new xenon-doped, dual-phase argon detector. This talk will survey the physics implications of xenon-doped argon TPCs, and describe the special cooling and circulation systems in CHILLAX. It will conclude with an overview of the current status of the detector and recent cryogenic tests performed..
Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. Release number LLNL-ABS-824388. The SCGSR program is administered by ORISE under Contract DE-SC0014664.
