Gas Electroluminescence in a Dual Phase Xenon-Doped Argon Detector

Abstract

Noble element detectors using argon or xenon as the detection medium are widely used in the searches for rare neutrino and dark matter interactions. Xenon doping in liquid argon can preserve attractive properties of an argon target while enhancing the detectable signals with properties of xenon. In this work, we deployed a dual-phase liquid argon detector with up to 4% xenon doping in the liquid and studied its gas electroluminescence properties as a function of xenon concentration. At $\sim$2% xenon doping in liquid argon, we measured $\sim$34 ppm of xenon in the gas and observed $\sim$2.5 times larger electroluminescence signals in the detector than those in pure argon. By analyzing signals recorded by photosensors of different wavelength sensitivities, we confirm that the argon gas electroluminescence process is strongly affected by the addition of xenon. We propose an analytical model to describe the underlying energy transfer mechanism in argon-xenon gas mixtures. Lastly, the implications of this measurement for low energy ionization signal detection will be discussed.