arXiv subjects

V. Barbarian

Publications and source records attributed to V. Barbarian.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Sensitivity projections for a dual-phase argon TPC optimized for light dark matter searches through the ionization channel

Dark matter lighter than 10 GeV/c$^2$ encompasses a promising range of candidates. A conceptual design for a new detector, DarkSide-LowMass, is presented, based on the DarkSide-50 detector and progress toward DarkSide-20k, optimized for a low-threshold electron-counting measurement. Sensitivity to light dark matter is explored for various potential energy thresholds and background rates. These studies show that DarkSide-LowMass can achieve sensitivity to light dark matter down to the solar neutrino floor for GeV-scale masses and significant sensitivity down to 10 MeV/c$^2$ considering the Migdal effect or interactions with electrons. Requirements for optimizing the detector's sensitivity are explored, as are potential sensitivity gains from modeling and mitigating spurious electron backgrounds that may dominate the signal at the lowest energies.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Separating $^{39}$Ar from $^{40}$Ar by cryogenic distillation with Aria for dark matter searches

The Aria project consists of a plant, hosting a 350 m cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is currently in the installation phase in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. Aria was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of $^{39}$Ar, a $β$-emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors, in the argon used for the dark-matter searches, the so-called Underground Argon (UAr). In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant, operating the column at total reflux.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Sensitivity of future liquid argon dark matter search experiments to core-collapse supernova neutrinos

Future liquid-argon DarkSide-20k and ARGO detectors, designed for direct dark matter search, will be sensitive also to core-collapse supernova neutrinos, via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. This interaction channel is flavor-insensitive with a high-cross section, enabling for a high-statistics neutrino detection with target masses of $\sim$50~t and $\sim$360~t for DarkSide-20k and ARGO, respectively. Thanks to the low-energy threshold of $\sim$0.5~keV$_{nr}$ achievable by exploiting the ionization channel, DarkSide-20k and ARGO have the potential to discover supernova bursts throughout our galaxy and up to the Small Magellanic Cloud, respectively, assuming a 11-M$_{\odot}$ progenitor star. We report also on the sensitivity to the neutronization burst, whose electron neutrino flux is suppressed by oscillations when detected via charged current and elastic scattering. Finally, the accuracies in the reconstruction of the average and total neutrino energy in the different phases of the supernova burst, as well as its time profile, are also discussed, taking into account the expected background and the detector response.

astro-ph.HE↗