Ponente
Descripción
The search for light dark matter (<10 $GeV/c^2$) has become increasingly important, since no conclusive evidence has been found in the higher dark matter (DM) mass region. In order to explore this light mass range, it is necessary to accurately model the response of the noble liquid time projection chamber (TPC) detectors, used in many experiments aimed at the direct measurement of DM, to low energy (<1 keV) nuclear recoils (NRs). In this respect, $^{37}$Ar provides an ideal calibration source in the low-energy region due to its two low-energy peaks at 0.27 and 2.82 keV following electron capture with a 35-day half-life. We propose a method to produce $^{37}$Ar without chemical or heating treatments by using the $^{40}$Ca(n,α)$^{37}$Ar reaction. This can be achieved by irradiating nano-CaO powder with a neutron source (e.g. AmBe) and allowing the produced $^{37}$Ar to diffuse into the argon used inside a double-phase TPC. By measuring the NR yields relative to those two low-energy points in the Recoil Directionality (ReD) experiment, other detectors can be cross-calibrated with the same source deployed. In this talk, the $^{37}$Ar source production, its deployment, and preliminary results will be presented.
