Measurement of the range component directional signature in a DRIFT-II detector using Cf-252 neutrons

S. Burgos, E. Daw, J. Forbes, C. Ghag, M. Gold, C. Hagemann, V. A. Kudryavtsev, T. B. Lawson, D. Loomba, R. Majewski, D. Muna, A. St J. Murphy, G. G. Nicklin, S. M. Paling, A. Petkov, S. J. S. Plank, M. Robinson, N. Sanghi, D. P. Snowden-Ifft, N. J. C. SpoonerJ. Turk, E. Tziaferi, Alex Murphy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks (DRIFT) collaboration utilizes low-pressure gaseous detectors to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter with directional signatures. A Cf-252 neutron source was placed on each of the principal axes of a DRIFT detector in order to test its ability to measure directional signatures from the three components of very low-energy (similar to keV/amu) recoil ranges. A high trigger threshold and the event selection procedure ensured that only sulfur recoils were analyzed. Sulfur recoils produced in the CS2 target gas by the Cf-252 source closely match those expected from massive WIMP induced sulfur recoils. For each orientation of the source, with a threshold of similar to 50 keV, a directional signal from the range components was observed, indicating that the detector has directional capability along all three axes, though in one direction the directionality was marginal. An analysis of these results yields an optimal orientation for DRIFT detectors when searching for a directional signature from WIMPs. Additional energy dependent information is provided to aid in understanding this effect. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)417-423
Number of pages7
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume600
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2009

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Dark matter
  • WIMP
  • DRIFT
  • Directionality
  • Time projection chamber
  • Negative ion TPC
  • DARK-MATTER DETECTOR

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