Project description
Pushing the sensitivity of dark matter detection to new levels
Two leading collaborations – the XENON/DARWIN and LUX-ZEPLIN (liquid xenon detectors) – that study dark matter are joining forces to create the next-generation dark matter detector. The detector will also be sensitive to other rare physics processes, such as the neutrinoless double beta decays, solar neutrinos, axions, etc. Despite the existence of shielding systems for muons or neutrons, the sensitivity of both detectors is limited by radioactive decays within the xenon, especially of the radioactive noble gas isotopes 222Rn and 85Kr. The EU-funded LowRad project will establish cryogenic distillation set-ups to reduce the concentrations of 222Rn and 85Kr to unprecedented levels. These should help reduce their background contributions to the detector by a factor of 10.
Objective
The astrophysical and cosmological evidence that the majority of matter in the universe must consist of exotic dark matter is overwhelming. But it is not yet clear what dark matter really is. Very promising candidates are WIMPs, the detection of which would also solve other pressing questions in particle physics. For the search for WIMPs, liquid xenon-based detectors are by far the most sensitive. The collaborations LZ, XENON and DARWIN joined to build a next generation detector, DARWIN/G3, with a sensitivity limited only by coherent neutrino scattering. Such a detector will not only search for dark matter, but will become an observatory for rare event searches (axions, solar neutrinos, neutrinoless double beta decay, ..).
Despite construction in underground laboratories and with further shielding or veto systems for muons or neutrons, the sensitivity of these detectors is limited by radioactive decays within the xenon, especially of the radioactive noble gas isotopes 222Rn and 85Kr, dominating the background of current xenon-based dark matter experiments. In this project we want to push the possibilities of cryogenic distillation to continuously reduce 222Rn and 85Kr to an unprecedented level of 1 atom per 100 mol of xenon (10 mol in case of 85Kr), which will make their background contributions at DARWIN/G3 to be a factor 10 smaller than that of the un-shieldable solar neutrinos. Our cryogenic distillation setups which obtain their cooling power from a novel heat pump concept offers the additional benefit of determining the impurity concentrations in-situ. We will integrate the novel distillation systems with the removal of electronegative impurities and their diagnostics into a compact cleaning system. Within LowRAD we aim to provide a complete quasi loss-less continuous 85Kr removal system ready for DARWIN/G3. In addition, we will explore how several important physics channels would become possible due to the extremely low 222Rn and 85Kr concentrations.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrynoble gases
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsneutrinos
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsdark matter
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdistillation
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesnuclear physicsnuclear decay
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
48149 MUENSTER
Germany