Low-radioactivity argon for rare-event searches

39Ar and 42Ar produce irreducible backgrounds for several argon-based dark matter and neutrino experiments. The use of low-radioactivity underground argon (UAr) could be a solution to the problem. The DarkSide-50 experiment demonstrated that argon derived from underground sources can contain a much...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Poudel, Sagar Sharma, Loer, Ben, Saldanha, Richard, Back, Henning O., Hackett, Brianne R.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Argon
Dark matter
Neutrinos
Radioactivity
Radioisotopes
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:39Ar and 42Ar produce irreducible backgrounds for several argon-based dark matter and neutrino experiments. The use of low-radioactivity underground argon (UAr) could be a solution to the problem. The DarkSide-50 experiment demonstrated that argon derived from underground sources can contain a much lower concentration of 39Ar than atmospheric argon. Following this success, the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration is procuring hundreds of tons of UAr for the DarkSide-20k detector. To serve the broader community need, it is increasingly important to identify new sources of low-radioactivity argon. In addition, understanding the underground production mechanisms of argon radioisotopes and devising methods to measure them at ultra-low levels is necessary. The use of low-radioactivity argon could be crucial to expanding the physics goals and sensitivity of next-generation large-scale argon-based experiments.
ISSN:0094-243X
1551-7616
DOI:10.1063/5.0161208