arXiv subjects

A. Joy

Publications and source records attributed to A. Joy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Dark Matter Search with the DEAP-3600 Detector using the Profile Likelihood Ratio Method

We present here a search for WIMP dark matter using 790.8 live-days of data collected with 3269 kg of liquid argon (1266 kg fiducial) by the DEAP-3600 detector at SNOLAB, using the Profile Likelihood Ratio method. The likelihood model is based on three parameters: estimated energy, pulse-shape discrimination parameter, and reconstructed position within the detector. Using this method, the expected signal sensitivity of DEAP-3600 benefits from an increased fiducial volume and improved event selection acceptance. Alpha-decays from a small number of dust particulates circulating within the liquid argon target are the dominant source of background events and limit the sensitivity of this search. This result provides improved exclusion upper limits on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section on liquid argon for WIMP masses between 20 GeV/$c^{2}$ and 100 GeV/$c^{2}$. At 100 GeV/$c^{2}$ the observed limit is 3.4 $\times$ 10$^{-45}$ cm$^2$ at 90% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Position Reconstruction in the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Search Experiment

In the DEAP-3600 dark matter search experiment, precise reconstruction of the positions of scattering events in liquid argon is key for background rejection and defining a fiducial volume that enhances dark matter candidate events identification. This paper describes three distinct position reconstruction algorithms employed by DEAP-3600, leveraging the spatial and temporal information provided by photomultipliers surrounding a spherical liquid argon vessel. Two of these methods are maximum-likelihood algorithms: the first uses the spatial distribution of detected photoelectrons, while the second incorporates timing information from the detected scintillation light. Additionally, a machine learning approach based on the pattern of photoelectron counts across the photomultipliers is explored.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Direct Measurement of the $^{39}$Ar Half-life from 3.4 Years of Data with the DEAP-3600 Detector

The half-life of $^{39}$Ar is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector located 2 km underground at SNOLAB. Between 2016 and 2020, DEAP-3600 used a target mass of (3269 $\pm$ 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the atmosphere in a direct-detection dark matter search. Such an argon mass also enables direct measurements of argon isotope properties. The decay of $^{39}$Ar in DEAP-3600 is the dominant source of triggers by two orders of magnitude, ensuring high statistics and making DEAP-3600 well-suited for measuring this isotope's half-life. Use of the pulse-shape discrimination technique in DEAP-3600 allows powerful discrimination between nuclear recoils and electron recoils, resulting in the selection of a clean sample of $^{39}$Ar decays. Observing over a period of 3.4 years, the $^{39}$Ar half-life is measured to be $(302 \pm 8_{\rm stat} \pm 6_{\rm sys})$ years. This new direct measurement suggests that the half-life of $^{39}$Ar is significantly longer than the accepted value, with potential implications for measurements using this isotope's half-life as input.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Offline tagging of radon-induced backgrounds in XENON1T and applicability to other liquid xenon detectors

This paper details the first application of a software tagging algorithm to reduce radon-induced backgrounds in liquid noble element time projection chambers, such as XENON1T and XENONnT. The convection velocity field in XENON1T was mapped out using $^{222}\text{Rn}$ and $^{218}\text{Po}$ events, and the root-mean-square convection speed was measured to be $0.30 \pm 0.01$ cm/s. Given this velocity field, $^{214}\text{Pb}$ background events can be tagged when they are followed by $^{214}\text{Bi}$ and $^{214}\text{Po}$ decays, or preceded by $^{218}\text{Po}$ decays. This was achieved by evolving a point cloud in the direction of a measured convection velocity field, and searching for $^{214}\text{Bi}$ and $^{214}\text{Po}$ decays or $^{218}\text{Po}$ decays within a volume defined by the point cloud. In XENON1T, this tagging system achieved a $^{214}\text{Pb}$ background reduction of $6.2^{+0.4}_{-0.9}\%$ with an exposure loss of $1.8\pm 0.2 \%$, despite the timescales of convection being smaller than the relevant decay times. We show that the performance can be improved in XENONnT, and that the performance of such a software-tagging approach can be expected to be further improved in a diffusion-limited scenario. Finally, a similar method might be useful to tag the cosmogenic $^{137}\text{Xe}$ background, which is relevant to the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

The XENONnT Dark Matter Experiment

The multi-staged XENON program at INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso aims to detect dark matter with two-phase liquid xenon time projection chambers of increasing size and sensitivity. The XENONnT experiment is the latest detector in the program, planned to be an upgrade of its predecessor XENON1T. It features an active target of 5.9 tonnes of cryogenic liquid xenon (8.5 tonnes total mass in cryostat). The experiment is expected to extend the sensitivity to WIMP dark matter by more than an order of magnitude compared to XENON1T, thanks to the larger active mass and the significantly reduced background, improved by novel systems such as a radon removal plant and a neutron veto. This article describes the XENONnT experiment and its sub-systems in detail and reports on the detector performance during the first science run.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

Design and performance of the field cage for the XENONnT experiment

The precision in reconstructing events detected in a dual-phase time projection chamber depends on an homogeneous and well understood electric field within the liquid target. In the XENONnT TPC the field homogeneity is achieved through a double-array field cage, consisting of two nested arrays of field shaping rings connected by an easily accessible resistor chain. Rather than being connected to the gate electrode, the topmost field shaping ring is independently biased, adding a degree of freedom to tune the electric field during operation. Two-dimensional finite element simulations were used to optimize the field cage, as well as its operation. Simulation results were compared to ${}^{83m}\mathrm{Kr}$ calibration data. This comparison indicates an accumulation of charge on the panels of the TPC which is constant over time, as no evolution of the reconstructed position distribution of events is observed. The simulated electric field was then used to correct the charge signal for the field dependence of the charge yield. This correction resolves the inconsistent measurement of the drift electron lifetime when using different calibrations sources and different field cage tuning voltages.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Search for events in XENON1T associated with Gravitational Waves

We perform a blind search for particle signals in the XENON1T dark matter detector that occur close in time to gravitational wave signals in the LIGO and Virgo observatories. No particle signal is observed in the nuclear recoil, electronic recoil, CE$\nu$NS, and S2-only channels within $\pm$ 500 seconds of observations of the gravitational wave signals GW170104, GW170729, GW170817, GW170818, and GW170823. We use this null result to constrain mono-energetic neutrinos and Beyond Standard Model particles emitted in the closest coalescence GW170817, a binary neutron star merger. We set new upper limits on the fluence (time-integrated flux) of coincident neutrinos down to 17 keV at 90% confidence level. Furthermore, we constrain the product of coincident fluence and cross section of Beyond Standard Model particles to be less than $10^{-29}$ cm$^2$/cm$^2$ in the [5.5-210] keV energy range at 90% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Searching for Heavy Dark Matter near the Planck Mass with XENON1T

Multiple viable theoretical models predict heavy dark matter particles with a mass close to the Planck mass, a range relatively unexplored by current experimental measurements. We use 219.4 days of data collected with the XENON1T experiment to conduct a blind search for signals from Multiply-Interacting Massive Particles (MIMPs). Their unique track signature allows a targeted analysis with only 0.05 expected background events from muons. Following unblinding, we observe no signal candidate events. This work places strong constraints on spin-independent interactions of dark matter particles with a mass between 1$\times$10$^{12}\,$GeV/c$^2$ and 2$\times$10$^{17}\,$GeV/c$^2$. In addition, we present the first exclusion limits on spin-dependent MIMP-neutron and MIMP-proton cross-sections for dark matter particles with masses close to the Planck scale.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Detector signal characterization with a Bayesian network in XENONnT

We developed a detector signal characterization model based on a Bayesian network trained on the waveform attributes generated by a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber. By performing inference on the model, we produced a quantitative metric of signal characterization and demonstrate that this metric can be used to determine whether a detector signal is sourced from a scintillation or an ionization process. We describe the method and its performance on electronic-recoil (ER) data taken during the first science run of the XENONnT dark matter experiment. We demonstrate the first use of a Bayesian network in a waveform-based analysis of detector signals. This method resulted in a 3% increase in ER event-selection efficiency with a simultaneously effective rejection of events outside of the region of interest. The findings of this analysis are consistent with the previous analysis from XENONnT, namely a background-only fit of the ER data.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

First Dark Matter Search with Nuclear Recoils from the XENONnT Experiment

We report on the first search for nuclear recoils from dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with the XENONnT experiment which is based on a two-phase time projection chamber with a sensitive liquid xenon mass of $5.9$ t. During the approximately 1.1 tonne-year exposure used for this search, the intrinsic $^{85}$Kr and $^{222}$Rn concentrations in the liquid target were reduced to unprecedentedly low levels, giving an electronic recoil background rate of $(15.8\pm1.3)~\mathrm{events}/(\mathrm{t\cdot y \cdot keV})$ in the region of interest. A blind analysis of nuclear recoil events with energies between $3.3$ keV and $60.5$ keV finds no significant excess. This leads to a minimum upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section of $2.58\times 10^{-47}~\mathrm{cm}^2$ for a WIMP mass of $28~\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$ at $90\%$ confidence level. Limits for spin-dependent interactions are also provided. Both the limit and the sensitivity for the full range of WIMP masses analyzed here improve on previous results obtained with the XENON1T experiment for the same exposure.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Precision Measurement of the Specific Activity of $^{39}$Ar in Atmospheric Argon with the DEAP-3600 Detector

The specific activity of the beta decay of $^{39}$Ar in atmospheric argon is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector. DEAP-3600, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB, uses a total of (3269 $\pm$ 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the atmosphere to search for dark matter. This detector with very low background uses pulseshape discrimination to differentiate between nuclear recoils and electron recoils and is well-suited to measure the decay of $^{39}$Ar. With 167 live-days of data, the measured specific activity at the time of atmospheric extraction is [0.964 $\pm$ 0.001 (stat) $\pm$ 0.024 (sys)] Bq/kg$_{\rm atmAr}$ which is consistent with results from other experiments. A cross-check analysis using different event selection criteria provides a consistent result.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

The Triggerless Data Acquisition System of the XENONnT Experiment

The XENONnT detector uses the latest and largest liquid xenon-based time projection chamber (TPC) operated by the XENON Collaboration, aimed at detecting Weakly Interacting Massive Particles and conducting other rare event searches. The XENONnT data acquisition (DAQ) system constitutes an upgraded and expanded version of the XENON1T DAQ system. For its operation, it relies predominantly on commercially available hardware accompanied by open-source and custom-developed software. The three constituent subsystems of the XENONnT detector, the TPC (main detector), muon veto, and the newly introduced neutron veto, are integrated into a single DAQ, and can be operated both independently and as a unified system. In total, the DAQ digitizes the signals of 698 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), of which 253 from the top PMT array of the TPC are digitized twice, at $\times10$ and $\times0.5$ gain. The DAQ for the most part is a triggerless system, reading out and storing every signal that exceeds the digitization thresholds. Custom-developed software is used to process the acquired data, making it available within $\mathcal{O}\left(10\text{ s}\right)$ for live data quality monitoring and online analyses. The entire system with all the three subsystems was successfully commissioned and has been operating continuously, comfortably withstanding readout rates that exceed $\sim500$ MB/s during calibration. Livetime during normal operation exceeds $99\%$ and is $\sim90\%$ during most high-rate calibrations. The combined DAQ system has collected more than 2 PB of both calibration and science data during the commissioning of XENONnT and the first science run.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Low-energy Calibration of XENON1T with an Internal $^{37}$Ar Source

A low-energy electronic recoil calibration of XENON1T, a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber, with an internal $^{37}$Ar source was performed. This calibration source features a 35-day half-life and provides two mono-energetic lines at 2.82 keV and 0.27 keV. The photon yield and electron yield at 2.82 keV are measured to be (32.3$\pm$0.3) photons/keV and (40.6$\pm$0.5) electrons/keV, respectively, in agreement with other measurements and with NEST predictions. The electron yield at 0.27 keV is also measured and it is (68.0$^{+6.3}_{-3.7}$) electrons/keV. The $^{37}$Ar calibration confirms that the detector is well-understood in the energy region close to the detection threshold, with the 2.82 keV line reconstructed at (2.83$\pm$0.02) keV, which further validates the model used to interpret the low-energy electronic recoil excess previously reported by XENON1T. The ability to efficiently remove argon with cryogenic distillation after the calibration proves that $^{37}$Ar can be considered as a regular calibration source for multi-tonne xenon detectors.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Effective field theory and inelastic dark matter results from XENON1T

In this work, we expand on the XENON1T nuclear recoil searches to study the individual signals of dark matter interactions from operators up to dimension-eight in a Chiral Effective Field Theory (ChEFT) and a model of inelastic dark matter (iDM). We analyze data from two science runs of the XENON1T detector totaling 1\,tonne$\times$year exposure. For these analyses, we extended the region of interest from [4.9, 40.9]$\,$keV$_{\text{NR}}$ to [4.9, 54.4]$\,$keV$_{\text{NR}}$ to enhance our sensitivity for signals that peak at nonzero energies. We show that the data is consistent with the background-only hypothesis, with a small background over-fluctuation observed peaking between 20 and 50$\,$keV$_{\text{NR}}$, resulting in a maximum local discovery significance of 1.7\,$\sigma$ for the Vector$\otimes$Vector$_{\text{strange}}$ ($VV_s$) ChEFT channel for a dark matter particle of 70$\,$GeV/c$^2$, and $1.8\,\sigma$ for an iDM particle of 50$\,$GeV/c$^2$ with a mass splitting of 100$\,$keV/c$^2$. For each model, we report 90\,\% confidence level (CL) upper limits. We also report upper limits on three benchmark models of dark matter interaction using ChEFT where we investigate the effect of isospin-breaking interactions. We observe rate-driven cancellations in regions of the isospin-breaking couplings, leading to up to 6 orders of magnitude weaker upper limits with respect to the isospin-conserving case.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

An approximate likelihood for nuclear recoil searches with XENON1T data

The XENON collaboration has published stringent limits on specific dark matter -nucleon recoil spectra from dark matter recoiling on the liquid xenon detector target. In this paper, we present an approximate likelihood for the XENON1T 1 tonne-year nuclear recoil search applicable to any nuclear recoil spectrum. Alongside this paper, we publish data and code to compute upper limits using the method we present. The approximate likelihood is constructed in bins of reconstructed energy, profiled along the signal expectation in each bin. This approach can be used to compute an approximate likelihood and therefore most statistical results for any nuclear recoil spectrum. Computing approximate results with this method is approximately three orders of magnitude faster than the likelihood used in the original publications of XENON1T, where limits were set for specific families of recoil spectra. Using this same method, we include toy Monte Carlo simulation-derived binwise likelihoods for the upcoming XENONnT experiment that can similarly be used to assess the sensitivity to arbitrary nuclear recoil signatures in its eventual 20 tonne-year exposure.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Search for New Physics in Electronic Recoil Data from XENONnT

We report on a blinded analysis of low-energy electronic-recoil data from the first science run of the XENONnT dark matter experiment. Novel subsystems and the increased 5.9 tonne liquid xenon target reduced the background in the (1, 30) keV search region to $(15.8 \pm 1.3)$ events/(tonne$\times$year$\times$keV), the lowest ever achieved in a dark matter detector and $\sim$5 times lower than in XENON1T. With an exposure of 1.16 tonne-years, we observe no excess above background and set stringent new limits on solar axions, an enhanced neutrino magnetic moment, and bosonic dark matter.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Double-Weak Decays of $^{124}$Xe and $^{136}$Xe in the XENON1T and XENONnT Experiments

We present results on the search for double-electron capture ($2\nu\text{ECEC}$) of $^{124}$Xe and neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) of $^{136}$Xe in XENON1T. We consider captures from the K- up to the N-shell in the $2\nu\text{ECEC}$ signal model and measure a total half-life of $T_{1/2}^{2\nu\text{ECEC}}=(1.1\pm0.2_\text{stat}\pm0.1_\text{sys})\times 10^{22}\;\text{yr}$ with a $0.87\;\text{kg}\times\text{yr}$ isotope exposure. The statistical significance of the signal is $7.0\,\sigma$. We use XENON1T data with $36.16\;\text{kg}\times\text{yr}$ of $^{136}$Xe exposure to search for $0\nu\beta\beta$. We find no evidence of a signal and set a lower limit on the half-life of $T_{1/2}^{0\nu\beta\beta} > 1.2 \times 10^{24}\;\text{yr}\; \text{at}\; 90\,\%\;\text{CL}$. This is the best result from a dark matter detector without an enriched target to date. We also report projections on the sensitivity of XENONnT to $0\nu\beta\beta$. Assuming a $275\;\text{kg}\times\text{yr}$ $^{136}$Xe exposure, the expected sensitivity is $T_{1/2}^{0\nu\beta\beta} > 2.1 \times 10^{25}\;\text{yr}\; \text{at}\; 90\,\%\;\text{CL}$, corresponding to an effective Majorana mass range of $\langle m_{\beta\beta} \rangle < (0.19 - 0.59)\;\text{eV/c}^2$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2021

Emission of Single and Few Electrons in XENON1T and Limits on Light Dark Matter

Delayed single- and few-electron emissions plague dual-phase time projection chambers, limiting their potential to search for light-mass dark matter. This paper examines the origins of these events in the XENON1T experiment. Characterization of the intensity of delayed electron backgrounds shows that the resulting emissions are correlated, in time and position, with high-energy events and can effectively be vetoed. In this work we extend previous S2-only analyses down to a single electron. From this analysis, after removing the correlated backgrounds, we observe rates < 30 events/(electron*kg*day) in the region of interest spanning 1 to 5 electrons. We derive 90% confidence upper limits for dark matter-electron scattering, first direct limits on the electric dipole, magnetic dipole, and anapole interactions, and bosonic dark matter models, where we exclude new parameter space for dark photons and solar dark photons.

hep-ex↗