The LUX prototype detector: Heat exchanger development . Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment Volume 709, 2013, Pages 29-36

The LUX (large underground xenon) detector is a two-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC) designed to search for WIMP-nucleon dark matter interactions. As with all noble element detectors, continuous purification of the detector medium is essential to produce a large (>1ms) electron lifetime; this is necessary for efficient measurement of the electron signal which in turn is essential for achieving robust discrimination of signal from background events. In this paper, we describe the development of a novel purification system deployed in a prototype detector. The results from the operation of this prototype indicated heat exchange with an efficiency above 94% up to a flow rate of 42 slpm, allowing for an electron drift length greater than 1 m to be achieved in approximately 2 days and sustained for the duration of the testing period. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.



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Author keywords

Charge transport and multiplication in liquid media; Large detector systems for particle and astroparticle physics; Noble-liquid detectors



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Indexed keywords

Astroparticle physics; Dark matter; Detector medium; Electron drift; Electron lifetime; Electron signals; Heat exchange; Heat exchanger development; Liquid media; Noble element; Prototype detector; Purification systems; Time projection chambers