Amaro, F.D., Baracchini, E., Benussi, L. et al. (46 more authors) (2024) Charge amplification in low pressure CF4:SF6:He mixtures with a multi-mesh ThGEM for directional dark matter searches. Journal of Instrumentation, 19 (06). P06021. ISSN 1748-0221
Abstract
The CYGNO collaboration is developing next generation directional Dark Matter (DM) detection experiments, using gaseous Time Projection Chambers (TPCs), as a robust method for identifying Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) below the Neutrino Fog. SF6 is potentially ideal for this since it provides a high fluorine content, enhancing sensitivity to spin-dependent interactions and, as a Negative Ion Drift (NID) gas, reduces charge diffusion leading to improved positional resolution. CF4, although not a NID gas, has also been identified as a favourable gas target as it provides a scintillation signal which can be used for a complimentary light/charge readout approach. These gases can operate at low pressures to elongate Nuclear Recoil (NR) tracks and facilitate directional measurements. In principle, He could be added to low pressure SF6/CF4 without significant detriment to the length of 16S, 12C, and 19F recoils. This would improve the target mass, sensitivity to lower WIMP masses, and offer the possibility of atmospheric operation; potentially reducing the cost of a containment vessel. In this article, we present gas gain and energy resolution measurements, taken with a Multi-Mesh Thick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (MMThGEM), in low pressure SF6 and CF4:SF6 mixtures following the addition of He. We find that the CF4:SF6:He mixtures tested were able to produce gas gains on the order of 104 up to a total pressure of 100 Torr. These results demonstrate an order of magnitude improvement [1] in charge amplification in NID gas mixtures with a He component.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 02 Jul 2024 15:31 |
Last Modified: | 02 Jul 2024 15:31 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/19/06/p06021 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IOP Publishing |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1088/1748-0221/19/06/p06021 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:214209 |