arXiv subjects

P. Madigan

Publications and source records attributed to P. Madigan.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

The Mini-CAPTAIN Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

This manuscript describes the commissioning of the Mini-CAPTAIN liquid argon detector in a neutron beam at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), which led to a first measurement of high-energy neutron interactions in argon. The Mini-CAPTAIN detector consists of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with an accompanying photomultiplier tube (PMT) array sealed inside a liquid-argon-filled cryostat. The liquid argon is constantly purified and recirculated in a closed-loop cycle during operation. The specifications and assembly of the detector subsystems and an overview of their performance in a neutron beam are reported.

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arXiv2019

A New Concept for Kilotonne Scale Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers

We develop a novel approach for a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) concept suitable for deployment in kilotonne scale detectors, with a charge-readout system free from reconstruction ambiguities, and a robust TPC design that reduces high-voltage risks while increasing the coverage of the light collection system. This novel concept could be deployed as a Far Detector module in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) neutrino-oscillation experiment. For the charge-readout system, we use the charge-collection pixels and associated application-specific integrated circuits currently being developed for the liquid argon (LAr) component of the DUNE Near Detector design, ArgonCube. In addition, we divide the TPC into a number or shorter drift volumes, reducing the total voltage used to drift the ionisation electrons, and minimising the stored energy per TPC. Segmenting the TPC also contains scintillation light, allowing for precise trigger localisation and a more expansive light-readout system. Furthermore, the design opens the possibility of replacing or upgrading components. These augmentations could substantially improve reliability and sensitivity, particularly for low energy signals, in comparison to a traditional monolithic LArTPCs with projective charge-readout.

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arXiv2019

New Technologies for Discovery

For the field of high energy physics to continue to have a bright future, priority within the field must be given to investments in the development of both evolutionary and transformational detector development that is coordinated across the national laboratories and with the university community, international partners and other disciplines. While the fundamental science questions addressed by high energy physics have never been more compelling, there is acute awareness of the challenging budgetary and technical constraints when scaling current technologies. Furthermore, many technologies are reaching their sensitivity limit and new approaches need to be developed to overcome the currently irreducible technological challenges. This situation is unfolding against a backdrop of declining funding for instrumentation, both at the national laboratories and in particular at the universities. This trend has to be reversed for the country to continue to play a leadership role in particle physics, especially in this most promising era of imminent new discoveries that could finally break the hugely successful, but limited, Standard Model of fundamental particle interactions. In this challenging environment it is essential that the community invest anew in instrumentation and optimize the use of the available resources to develop new innovative, cost-effective instrumentation, as this is our best hope to successfully accomplish the mission of high energy physics. This report summarizes the current status of instrumentation for high energy physics, the challenges and needs of future experiments and indicates high priority research areas.

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arXiv2018

LArPix: Demonstration of low-power 3D pixelated charge readout for liquid argon time projection chambers

We report the demonstration of a low-power pixelated readout system designed for three-dimensional ionization charge detection and digital readout of liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Unambiguous 3D charge readout was achieved using a custom-designed system-on-a-chip ASIC (LArPix) to uniquely instrument each pad in a pixelated array of charge-collection pads. The LArPix ASIC, manufactured in 180 nm bulk CMOS, provides 32 channels of charge-sensitive amplification with self-triggered digitization and multiplexed readout at temperatures from 80 K to 300 K. Using an 832-channel LArPix-based readout system with 3 mm spacing between pads, we demonstrated low-noise ($<$500 e$^-$ RMS equivalent noise charge) and very low-power ($<$100 $μ$W/channel) ionization signal detection and readout. The readout was used to successfully measure the three-dimensional ionization distributions of cosmic rays passing through a LArTPC, free from the ambiguities of existing projective techniques. The system design relies on standard printed circuit board manufacturing techniques, enabling scalable and low-cost production of large-area readout systems using common commercial facilities. This demonstration overcomes a critical technical obstacle for operation of LArTPCs in high-occupancy environments, such as the near detector site of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).

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