The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter
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| Publication Date: | 2022 |
| Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Source: | Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) |
| Download full: | https://hdl.handle.net/10316/111915 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2023.102853 |
Summary: | Minor corrections from journal review process; accepted version |
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The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matterDark matterDirect detectionNeutron scatteringMigdal effectGas detectorsMinor corrections from journal review process; accepted versionWe present the Migdal In Galactic Dark mAtter expLoration (MIGDAL) experiment aiming at the unambiguous observation and study of the so-called Migdal effect induced by fast-neutron scattering. It is hoped that this elusive atomic process can be exploited to enhance the reach of direct dark matter search experiments to lower masses, but it is still lacking experimental confirmation. Our goal is to detect the predicted atomic electron emission which is thought to accompany nuclear scattering with low, but calculable, probability, by deploying an Optical Time Projection Chamber filled with a low-pressure gas based on CF$_4$. Initially, pure CF$_4$ will be used, and then in mixtures containing other elements employed by leading dark matter search technologies -- including noble species, plus Si and Ge. High resolution track images generated by a Gas Electron Multiplier stack, together with timing information from scintillation and ionisation readout, will be used for 3D reconstruction of the characteristic event topology expected for this process -- an arrangement of two tracks sharing a common vertex, with one belonging to a Migdal electron and the other to a nuclear recoil. Different energy-loss rate distributions along both tracks will be used as a powerful discrimination tool against background events. In this article we present the design of the experiment, informed by extensive particle and track simulations and detailed estimations of signal and background rates. In pure CF$_4$ we expect to observe 8.9 (29.3) Migdal events per calendar day of exposure to an intense D-D (D-T) neutron generator beam at the NILE facility located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK). With our nominal assumptions, 5$\sigma$ median discovery significance can be achieved in under one day with either generator.This work has been supported by the UKRI’s Science & Technology Facilities Council through the Xenon Futures R&D programme (awards ST/T005823/1, ST/T005882/1, ST/V001833/1, ST/V001876/1), Consolidated Grants (ST/S000739/1, ST/T000759/1), CM’s Ernest Rutherford Fellowship (ST/N004663/1) and TM’s PhD scholarship (ST/ T505894/1); by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics, under Award Number DE-SC0022357; by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under award number PTDC/FIS-PAR/2831/2020; and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 841261 (DarkSphere) and No. 101026519 (GaGARin). ELA acknowledges the support from Spanish grant CA3/RSUE/2021-00827, funded by Ministerio de Universidades, Plan de Recuperacion, Transformacion Resiliencia, and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. We are grateful to the Particle Physics Department at RAL for significant additional support which made this project possible. Thanks are also due to the CERN RD51 collaboration for their support through Common Project funds, hardware tests and training, and useful discussions. We would also like to thank the ISIS facility for technical assistance and for hosting this experiment. We thank Master’s students E. Brookes (RHUL) and L. Shanahan (Imperial), as well as summer students M. Lau and I. Andreou (Imperial), E. Zammit-Lonardelli, M. Collier, C. Jolly and M. Handley (RAL) for their contributions. Thanks are also due to D. Parker (Imperial HEP Electronics Workshop). We are grateful to S. Biagi (U. Liverpool) for his assistance with Degrad; and to P. Cox, M. Dolan and H. Quiney (U. Melbourne) for discussions on the atomic theory underlying the Migdal effect.Elsevier2022-07-17info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttps://hdl.handle.net/10316/111915https://hdl.handle.net/10316/111915https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2023.102853eng09276505http://arxiv.org/abs/2207.08284v3Araújo, H. M.Balashov, S. N.Borg, J. E.Brunbauer, F. M.Cazzaniga, C.Frost, C. D.Garcia, F.Kaboth, A. C.Kastriotou, M.Katsioulas, I.Khazov, A.Kraus, H.Kudryavtsev, V. A.Lilley, S.Lindote, A.Loomba, D.Lopes, M. I.Lopez-Asamar, E.Luna Dapica, P.Majewski, P. A.Marley, T.McCabe, C.Mills, A. F.Nakhostin, M.Neep, T.Neves, F.Nikolopoulos, K.Oliveri, E.Ropelewski, L.Tilly, E.Solovov, V. N.Sumner, T. J.Tarrant, J.Turnley, R.van der Grinten, M. G. D.Veenhof, R.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)instname:FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologiainstacron:RCAAP2024-01-16T12:35:17Zoai:estudogeral.uc.pt:10316/111915Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireinfo@rcaap.ptopendoar:https://opendoar.ac.uk/repository/71602025-05-29T06:04:15.402920Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) - FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologiafalse |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| title |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| spellingShingle |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter Araújo, H. M. Dark matter Direct detection Neutron scattering Migdal effect Gas detectors |
| title_short |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| title_full |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| title_fullStr |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| title_sort |
The MIGDAL experiment: Measuring a rare atomic process to aid the search for dark matter |
| author |
Araújo, H. M. |
| author_facet |
Araújo, H. M. Balashov, S. N. Borg, J. E. Brunbauer, F. M. Cazzaniga, C. Frost, C. D. Garcia, F. Kaboth, A. C. Kastriotou, M. Katsioulas, I. Khazov, A. Kraus, H. Kudryavtsev, V. A. Lilley, S. Lindote, A. Loomba, D. Lopes, M. I. Lopez-Asamar, E. Luna Dapica, P. Majewski, P. A. Marley, T. McCabe, C. Mills, A. F. Nakhostin, M. Neep, T. Neves, F. Nikolopoulos, K. Oliveri, E. Ropelewski, L. Tilly, E. Solovov, V. N. Sumner, T. J. Tarrant, J. Turnley, R. van der Grinten, M. G. D. Veenhof, R. |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
Balashov, S. N. Borg, J. E. Brunbauer, F. M. Cazzaniga, C. Frost, C. D. Garcia, F. Kaboth, A. C. Kastriotou, M. Katsioulas, I. Khazov, A. Kraus, H. Kudryavtsev, V. A. Lilley, S. Lindote, A. Loomba, D. Lopes, M. I. Lopez-Asamar, E. Luna Dapica, P. Majewski, P. A. Marley, T. McCabe, C. Mills, A. F. Nakhostin, M. Neep, T. Neves, F. Nikolopoulos, K. Oliveri, E. Ropelewski, L. Tilly, E. Solovov, V. N. Sumner, T. J. Tarrant, J. Turnley, R. van der Grinten, M. G. D. Veenhof, R. |
| author2_role |
author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author |
| dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Araújo, H. M. Balashov, S. N. Borg, J. E. Brunbauer, F. M. Cazzaniga, C. Frost, C. D. Garcia, F. Kaboth, A. C. Kastriotou, M. Katsioulas, I. Khazov, A. Kraus, H. Kudryavtsev, V. A. Lilley, S. Lindote, A. Loomba, D. Lopes, M. I. Lopez-Asamar, E. Luna Dapica, P. Majewski, P. A. Marley, T. McCabe, C. Mills, A. F. Nakhostin, M. Neep, T. Neves, F. Nikolopoulos, K. Oliveri, E. Ropelewski, L. Tilly, E. Solovov, V. N. Sumner, T. J. Tarrant, J. Turnley, R. van der Grinten, M. G. D. Veenhof, R. |
| dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
Dark matter Direct detection Neutron scattering Migdal effect Gas detectors |
| topic |
Dark matter Direct detection Neutron scattering Migdal effect Gas detectors |
| description |
Minor corrections from journal review process; accepted version |
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2022 |
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2022-07-17 |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10316/111915 https://hdl.handle.net/10316/111915 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2023.102853 |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10316/111915 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2023.102853 |
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eng |
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eng |
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09276505 http://arxiv.org/abs/2207.08284v3 |
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Elsevier |
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Elsevier |
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