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D. Gonzalez-Diaz

Publications and source records attributed to D. Gonzalez-Diaz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Modelling the behaviour of microbulk Micromegas in Xenon/trimethylamine gas

We model the response of a state of the art micro-hole single-stage charge amplication device (`microbulk' Micromegas) in a gaseous atmosphere consisting of Xenon/trimethylamine at various concentrations and pressures. The amplifying structure, made with photo-lithographic techniques similar to those followed in the fabrication of gas electron multipliers (GEMs), consisted of a 100 um-side equilateral-triangle pattern with 50 um-diameter holes placed at its vertexes. Once the primary electrons are guided into the holes by virtue of an optimized field configuration, avalanches develop along the 50 um-height channels etched out of the original doubly copper-clad polyimide foil. In order to properly account for the strong field gradients at the holes' entrance as well as for the fluctuations of the avalanche process (that ultimately determine the achievable energy resolution), we abandoned the hydrodynamic framework, resorting to a purely microscopic description of the electron trajectories as obtained from elementary cross-sections. We show that achieving a satisfactory description needs additional assumptions about atom-molecule (Penning) transfer reactions and charge recombination to be made.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2015

TREX-DM: a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low mass WIMP detection

Dark Matter experiments are recently focusing their detection techniques in low-mass WIMPs, which requires the use of light elements and low energy threshold. In this context, we present the TREX-DM experiment, a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection. Its main goal is the operation of an active detection mass $\sim$0.300 kg, with an energy threshold below 0.4 keVee and fully built with previously selected radiopure materials. This article describes the actual setup, the first results of the comissioning in Ar+2\%iC$_4$H$_{10}$ at 1.2 bar and the future updates for a possible physics run at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in 2016. A first background model is also presented, based on Geant4 simulations and a muon/electron discrimination method. In a conservative scenario, TREX-DM could be sensitive to DAMA/LIBRA and other hints of positive WIMPs signals, with some space for improvement with a neutron/electron discrimination method or the use of other light gases.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2015

Subthreshold Xi- Production in Collisions of p(3.5 GeV)+Nb

Results on the production of the double-strange cascade hyperon $\mathrm{Ξ^-}$ are reported for collisions of p\,(3.5~GeV)\,+\,Nb, studied with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at SIS18 at GSI Helmholtzzentrum for Heavy-Ion Research, Darmstadt. For the first time, subthreshold $\mathrm{Ξ^-}$ production is observed in proton-nucleus interactions. Assuming a $\mathrm{Ξ^-}$ phase-space distribution similar to that of $\mathrmΛ$ hyperons, the production probability amounts to $P_{\mathrm{Ξ^-}}=(2.0\,\pm0.4\,\mathrm{(stat)}\,\pm 0.3\,\mathrm{(norm)}\,\pm 0.6\,\mathrm{(syst)})\times10^{-4}$ resulting in a $\mathrm{Ξ^-/(Λ+Σ^0)}$ ratio of $P_{\mathrm{Ξ^-}}/\ P_{\mathrm{Λ+Σ^0}}=(1.2\pm 0.3\,\mathrm{(stat)}\pm0.4\,\mathrm{(syst)})\times10^{-2}$. Available model predictions are significantly lower than the estimated $\mathrm{Ξ^-}$ yield.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2014

Results of the material screening program of the NEXT experiment

The 'Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT)', intended to investigate neutrinoless double beta decay, requires extremely low background levels. An extensive material screening and selection process to assess the radioactivity of components is underway combining several techniques, including germanium gamma-ray spectrometry performed at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory; recent results of this material screening program are presented here.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

Characterization of a medium size Xe/TMA TPC instrumented with microbulk Micromegas, using low-energy $γ$-rays

NEXT-MM is a general-purpose high pressure (10 bar, $\sim25$ l active volume) Xenon-based TPC, read out in charge mode with an 8 cm $\times$8 cm-segmented 700 cm$^2$ plane (1152 ch) of the latest microbulk-Micromegas technology. It has been recently commissioned at University of Zaragoza as part of the R&D of the NEXT $0νββ$ experiment, although the experiment's first stage is currently being built based on a SiPM/PMT-readout concept relying on electroluminescence. Around 2 million events were collected during the last months, stemming from the low energy $γ$-rays emitted by a $^{241}$Am source when interacting with the Xenon gas ($ε$ = 26, 30, 59.5 keV). The localized nature of such events above atmospheric pressure, the long drift times, as well as the possibility to determine their production time from the associated $α$ particle in coincidence, allow the extraction of primordial properties of the TPC filling gas, namely the drift velocity, diffusion and attachment coefficients. In this work we focus on the little explored combination of Xe and trimethylamine (TMA) for which, in particular, such properties are largely unknown. This gas mixture offers potential advantages over pure Xenon when aimed at Rare Event Searches, mainly due to its Penning characteristics, wave-length shifting properties and reduced diffusion, and it is being actively investigated by our collaboration. The chamber is currently operated at 2.7 bar, as an intermediate step towards the envisaged 10 bar. We report here its performance as well as a first implementation of the calibration procedures that have allowed the extension of the previously reported energy resolution to the whole readout plane (10.6%FWHM@30keV).

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

Searching a Dark Photon with HADES

We present a search for the e+e- decay of a hypothetical dark photon, also names U vector boson, in inclusive dielectron spectra measured by HADES in the p (3.5 GeV) + p, Nb reactions, as well as the Ar (1.756 GeV/u) + KCl reaction. An upper limit on the kinetic mixing parameter squared epsilon^{2} at 90% CL has been obtained for the mass range M(U) = 0.02 - 0.55 GeV/c2 and is compared with the present world data set. For masses 0.03 - 0.1 GeV/c^2, the limit has been lowered with respect to previous results, allowing now to exclude a large part of the parameter region favoured by the muon g-2 anomaly. Furthermore, an improved upper limit on the branching ratio of 2.3 * 10^{-6} has been set on the helicity-suppressed direct decay of the eta meson, eta-> e+e-, at 90% CL.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2013

The NEXT experiment. Towards phase I

Phase I of the NEXT-100 $0νββ$ experiment (NEW) is scheduled for data taking in 2015 at Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc in the Spanish Pyrenees. Thanks to the light proportional technique, NEW anticipates an outstanding energy resolution nearing the Fano factor in Xenon (0.5-1%FWHM@$Q_{ββ,^{136}Xe}$), with a TPC-design that allows tracking and identification of the double end-blob feature of the $0νββ$ decay. When properly mastered, the combination of these two assets can suppress the irreducible $2νββ$ and (single-blob) $γ$ backgrounds from natural radioactivity to minute levels, of the order of $5\times{10^{-4}}$ ckky. Given our knowledge of the available phase-space as obtained from neutrino oscillation experiments, this feat will expectedly allow for a sensitivity to the effective electron neutrino mass of $m_{ββ}\simeq 30$ meV for exposures at the 20 ton $\times$ year scale. Hence, ultimately, a full survey of the inverse hierarchy of the neutrino mass ordering appears to be within reach for a ton-scale experiment based on this technology. NEW, with 10 kg of Xenon 90%-enriched in $^{136}$Xe, sets an unprecedented scale for gaseous Xenon TPCs and will be an important milestone for its anticipated upgrades (100 kg and 1 ton). I briefly summarize the status of the NEXT experiment, from the main results obtained with $\sim 1$ kg prototypes that substantiate the concept, to the ongoing works for deploying its first phase.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

pK+Λfinal state: towards the extraction of the ppK- contribution

The reaction p(@3.5\,GeV)+p -> p+Λ+ K^+ can be studied to search for the existence of kaonic bound states like ppK^- leading to this final state. This effort has been motivated by the assumption that in p+p collisions the Λ(1405) resonance can act as a doorway to the formation of the kaonic bound states. The status of this analysis within the HADES collaboration, with particular emphasis on the comparison to simulations, is shown in this work and the deviation method utilized by the DISTO collaboration in a similar analysis is discussed. The outcome suggests the employment of a partial wave analysis to disentangle the different contributions to the measured pK^+Λfinal state.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2013

Inclusive pion and eta production in p+Nb collisions at 3.5 GeV beam energy

Data on inclusive pion and eta production measured with the dielectron spectrometer HADES in the reaction p+93Nb at a kinetic beam energy of 3.5 GeV are presented. Our results, obtained with the photon conversion method, supplement the rather sparse information on neutral meson production in proton-nucleus reactions existing for this bombarding energy regime. The reconstructed e+e-e+e- transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions are confronted with transport model calculations, which account fairly well for both pi0 and eta production.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2013

Micromegas-TPC operation at high pressure in Xenon-trimethylamine mixtures

We present in this work measurements performed with a small Micromegas-TPC using a xenon-trimethylamine (Xe-TMA) Penning-mixture as filling gas. Measurements of gas gain and energy resolutions for 22.1 keV X-rays are presented, spanning several TMA concentrations and pressures between 1 and 10 bar. Across this pressure range, the best energy resolution and largest increase in gain at constant field (a standard figure for characterizing Penning-like energy transfers) is observed to be in the 1.5%-2.5% TMA region. A gain increase (at constant field) up to a factor 100 and a best energy resolution improved by up to a factor 3 with respect to the one previously reported in pure Xe -operated Micromegas, can be obtained. In virtue of the VUV-quenching properties of the mixture, the overall maximum gain achievable is also notably increased (up to 400 at 10bar), a factor x 3 higher than in pure Xe. In addition, preliminary measurements of the electron drift velocity in a modified setup have been performed and show good agreement with the one obtained from Magboltz. These results are of great interest for calorimetric applications in gas Xe TPCs, in particular for the search of the neutrino-less double beta decay of Xe-136.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

Radiopurity control in the NEXT-100 double beta decay experiment: procedures and initial measurements

The Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT) is intended to investigate the neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe, which requires a severe suppression of potential backgrounds. An extensive screening and material selection process is underway for NEXT since the control of the radiopurity levels of the materials to be used in the experimental set-up is a must for rare event searches. First measurements based on Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry and gamma-ray spectroscopy using ultra-low background germanium detectors at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (Spain) are described here. Activity results for natural radioactive chains and other common radionuclides are summarized, being the values obtained for some materials like copper and stainless steel very competitive. The implications of these results for the NEXT experiment are also discussed.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2012

Micromegas-TPC operation at high pressure in xenon-trimethylamine mixtures

In this work we present a systematic study of Micromegas detectors in high pressure gaseous Xenon using trimethylamine (TMA) as quencher gas. Gas gains and energy resolutions for 22.1 keV X-rays are measured for pressures between 1 and 10 bar and various relative concentrations of TMA from 0.3 % to 15 %. We observe stable operation at all pressures, and a strongly enhanced gas gain, suggestive of Penning-like energy-transfer processes. The effect is present at all pressures and it is strongest at TMA concentrations ranging from 1.5 % to 3 %. Operating in this concentration range, the maximum gain reached values as high as x10^3 (x10^2) at 1 (10) bar. Besides, the energy resolution achievable for 22.1 keV X-rays is substantially better than the one previously obtained in pure Xe, going down to 7.3 % (9.6 %) FWHM for 1 (10) bar. These results are of interest for calorimetric applications of high pressure gas Xe TPCs, in particular for the search of the neutrinoless double beta decay of Xe-136. The resolutions achieved would extrapolate into 0.7 % (0.9 %) FWHM at the Qbb value of Xe-136 for 1 (10) bar.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2011

Baryonic resonances close to the Kbar-N threshold: the case of Sigma(1385)^+ in pp collisions

We present results of an exclusive measurement of the first excited state of the Sigma hyperon, Sigma(1385)^+, produced in p+p -> Sigma^+ + K^+ + n at 3.5 GeV beam energy. The extracted data allow to study in detail the invariant mass distribution of the Sigma(1385)^+. The mass distribution is well described by a relativistic Breit-Wigner function with a maximum at m_0 = 1383.2 +- 0.9 MeV/c^2 and a width of 40.2 +- 2.1 MeV/c^2. The exclusive production cross-section comes out to be 22.27 +- 0.89 +- 1.56 +3.07 -2.10 mu b. Angular distributions of the Sigma(1385)^+ in different reference frames are found to be compatible with the hypothesis that 33 % of Sigma(1385)^+ result from the decay of an intermediate Delta^{++} resonance.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2011

Hyperon production in Ar+KCl collisions at 1.76A GeV

We present transverse momentum spectra, rapidity distribution and multiplicity of Lambda-hyperons measured with the HADES spectrometer in the reaction Ar(1.76A GeV)+KCl. The yield of Xi- is calculated from our previously reported Xi-/(Lambda+Sigma0) ratio and compared to other strange particle multiplicities. Employing a strangeness balance equation the multiplicities of the yet unmeasured charged Sigma hyperons can be estimated. Finally a statistical hadronization model is used to fit the yields of pi-, K+, K0s, K-, phi, Lambda and Xi-. The resulting chemical freeze-out temperature of T=(76+-2) MeV is compared to the measured slope parameters obtained from fits to the transverse mass distributions of the particles.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2009

A comprehensive study of rate capability in Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers

Systematic measurements on the rate capability of thin MWPCs operated in Xenon, Argon and Neon mixtures using CO2 as UV-quencher are presented. A good agreement between data and existing models has been found, allowing us to present the rate capability of MWPCs in a comprehensive way and ultimately connect it with the mobilities of the drifting ions.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2009

Future perspectives at SIS-100 with HADES-at-FAIR

Currently, the HADES spectrometer undergoes un upgrade program to be prepared for measurements at the upcoming SIS-100 synchrotron at FAIR. We describe the current status of the HADES di-electron measurements at the SIS-18 and our future plans for SIS-100.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2009

Charged pion production in C+C and Ar+KCl collisions measured with HADES

Results of a study of charged pion production in 12C+12C collisions at incident beam energies of 1A GeV and 2A GeV, and 40Ar+natKCl at 1.76AGeV, using the spectrometer HADES at GSI, are presented. We have performed a measurement of the transverse momentum distributions of pi+- mesons covering a fairly large rapidity interval, in case of the C+C collision system for the first time. The yields, transverse mass and angular distributions are compared with a transport model as well as with existing data from other experiments.

nucl-ex↗