6533b86dfe1ef96bd12ca0fc
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Ionization and scintillation response of high-pressure xenon gas to alpha particles
Next CollaborationV. ÁLvarezF. I. G. M. BorgesS. CárcelS. CebriánA. CerveraC. A. N. CondeT. DafniJ. DíazM. EgorovR. EsteveP. EvtoukhovitchL. M. P. FernandesP. FerrarioA. L. FerreiraE. D. C. FreitasV. M. GehmanA. GilA. GoldschmidtH. GómezJ. J. Gómez-cadenasD. González-díazR. M. GutiérrezJ. HauptmanJ. A. Hernando MorataD. C. HerreraI. G. IrastorzaM. A. JineteL. LabargaA. LaingI. LiubarskyJ. A. M. LopesD. LorcaM. LosadaG. LuzónA. MaríJ. Martín-alboT. MillerA. MoiseenkoF. MonrabalC. M. B. MonteiroF. J. MoraL. M. MoutinhoJ. Muñoz VidalH. Natal Da LuzG. NavarroM. Nebot-guinotD. NygrenC. A. B. OliveiraR. PalmaJ. PérezJ. L. Pérez AparicioJ. RennerL. RipollA. RodríguezJ. RodríguezF. P. SantosJ. M. F. Dos SantosL. SeguiL. SerraD. ShumanA. SimónC. SofkaM. SorelJ. F. ToledoA. TomásJ. TorrentZ. TsamalaidzeD. VázquezJ. F. C. A. VelosoR. WebbJ. T WhiteN. Yahlalisubject
Scintillation (physics)IonizationMECANICA DE LOS MEDIOS CONTINUOS Y TEORIA DE ESTRUCTURASPhysics - Instrumentation and DetectorsMaterials scienceIonitzacióPhysics::Instrumentation and DetectorsFOS: Physical scienceschemistry.chemical_elementElectronCharge transportNuclear excitation01 natural sciences7. Clean energyHigh Energy Physics - ExperimentTECNOLOGIA ELECTRONICAHigh Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)Gaseous detectorsXenonComptadors de centelleigIonization and excitation processesIonization0103 physical sciencesPhysics::Atomic and Molecular ClustersNuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)010306 general physicsInstrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)Nuclear ExperimentInstrumentationMathematical PhysicsHeliumDetectors de radiacióScintillationTime projection chamber010308 nuclear & particles physicsFísicaMultiplication and electroluminescence in rare gases and liquidsInstrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)Alpha particleDouble-beta decay detectorschemistryNuclear countersScintillation counterExcitació nuclearAtomic physicsAstrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysicsdescription
High-pressure xenon gas is an attractive detection medium for a variety of applications in fundamental and applied physics. In this paper we study the ionization and scintillation detection properties of xenon gas at 10 bar pressure. For this purpose, we use a source of alpha particles in the NEXT-DEMO time projection chamber, the large scale prototype of the NEXT-100 neutrinoless double beta decay experiment, in three different drift electric field configurations. We measure the ionization electron drift velocity and longitudinal diffusion, and compare our results to expectations based on available electron scattering cross sections on pure xenon. In addition, two types of measurements addressing the connection between the ionization and scintillation yields are performed. On the one hand we observe, for the first time in xenon gas, large event-by-event correlated fluctuations between the ionization and scintillation signals, similar to that already observed in liquid xenon. On the other hand, we study the field dependence of the average scintillation and ionization yields. Both types of measurements may shed light on the mechanism of electron-ion recombination in xenon gas for highly-ionizing particles. Finally, by comparing the response of alpha particles and electrons in NEXT-DEMO, we find no evidence for quenching of the primary scintillation light produced by alpha particles in the xenon gas.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-01-01 |