arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A. S. Murphy.
Recent objections (Phys.Lett. B 637, 156) to the published Zeplin I limit (Astropart. Phys 23, 444) are shown to arise from misunderstandings of the calibration data and procedure, and a misreading of the data in one of the referenced papers.
We present details of the technical design and manufacture of the ZEPLIN-III dark matter experiment. ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase xenon detector which measures both the scintillation light and the ionisation charge generated in the liquid by interacting particles and radiation. The instrument design is driven by both the physics requirements and by the technology requirements surrounding the use of liquid xenon. These include considerations of key performance parameters, such as the efficiency of scintillation light collection, restrictions placed on the use of materials to control the inherent radioactivity levels, attainment of high vacuum levels and chemical contamination control. The successful solution has involved a number of novel design and manufacturing features which will be of specific use to future generations of direct dark matter search experiments as they struggle with similar and progressively more demanding requirements.
We present results from a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo tool for end-to-end simulations of the ZEPLIN-III dark matter experiment. ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase detector which measures both the scintillation light and the ionisation charge generated in liquid xenon by interacting particles and radiation. The software models the instrument response to radioactive backgrounds and calibration sources, including the generation, ray-tracing and detection of the primary and secondary scintillations in liquid and gaseous xenon, and subsequent processing by data acquisition electronics. A flexible user interface allows easy modification of detector parameters at run time. Realistic datasets can be produced to help with data analysis, an example of which is the position reconstruction algorithm developed from simulated data. We present a range of simulation results confirming the original design sensitivity of a few times $10^{-8}$ pb to the WIMP-nucleon cross-section.
The WMAP satellite, devoted to the observations of the anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, has recently provided a determination of the baryonic density of the Universe with unprecedented precision. Using this, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations predict a primordial 7Li abundance which is a factor 2-3 higher than that observed in galactic halo dwarf stars. It has been argued that this discrepancy could be resolved if the 7Be(d,p)2alpha reaction rate is around a factor of 100 larger than has previously been considered. We have now studied this reaction, for the first time at energies appropriate to the Big Bang environment, at the CYCLONE radioactive beam facility at Louvain-la-Neuve. The cross section was found to be a factor of 10 smaller than derived from earlier measurements. It is concluded therefore that nuclear uncertainties cannot explain the discrepancy between observed and predicted primordial 7Li abundances, and an alternative astrophysical solution must be investigated.