Commissioning of the MIGDAL detector with fast neutrons at NILE/ISIS
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Many dark matter experiments are exploiting the Migdal effect, a rare atomic process, to improve sensitivity to low-mass (sub-GeV) WIMP-like dark matter candidates. However, this process is yet to be directly observed in nuclear scattering. The MIGDAL experiment aims to make the first unambiguous measurement of the Migdal effect in nuclear scattering. A low-pressure optical Time Projection Chamber is used to image in three-dimensions the characteristic signature of a Migdal event: an electron and a nuclear recoil track sharing a common vertex. Nuclear recoils are induced using fast neutrons from a D–D source, which scatter in the gaseous volume of the detector. The experiment is operated with 50 Torr of CF 4 using two glass GEMs for charge amplification. Both light and charge are read-out, and these measurements are combined for track reconstruction. Commissioning data has been recorded with fast neutrons at the Neutron Irradiation Laboratory for Electronics (NILE) at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK. Results of the experiment’s commissioning and the performance of the detector with a high rate of highly ionising nuclear recoils are presented, along with results from low energy electrons. Initial results of light and charge read-out with low pressure noble gas mixtures are also presented.
Author: L. Millins
Institutions: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, University of Birmingham
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
Awards: Responsive RAs for the Birmingham Experimental Particle Physics Programme, XENON FUTURES: R&D for a Global Rare Event Observatory - Phase 1, G1263811995, XENON FUTURES: R&D for a Global Rare Event Observatory - Phase 1, Pathways between Fundamental Physics and Phenomenology, Birmingham Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2022-25, Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2019-2022, G2796609927, RAL Studentship at Birmingham 2022, Participação da experiência LUX-ZEPLIN: análise dos dados do primeiro período de aquisição e preparação da segunda tomada de dados, G4598120003, G4768994529, Enhancing The MIGDAL Experiment's Sensitivity in the Low Energy Regime Relevant to Dark Matter Searches, RAL Studentship on G3 Dark Matter at Imperial, Xenon Futures: R&D For A Global Rare Event Observatory (Phase 2), EXC 2121: Quantum Universe, XENON FUTURES: R&D for a Global Rare Event Observatory - Phase 2, G7421241225, The study of elementary particles and their interactions (PPGPE Responsive PDRA Call 2022), The study of elementary particles and their interactions (Consolidated Grant 2022 - 2025)
OpenAlex ID: W4403261339