LIDINE 2023: LIght Detection In Noble Elements

Estimation of Ar-37 activation and decay rate in DarkSide-50 experiment

21 sept 2023, 9:15

15m

Auditorium

oral presentation Session IV

Ponente

Iftikhar Ahmad (ASTROCENT)

Descripción

The DarkSide-50 (DS-50) experiment uses underground argon (UAr) as a target for the detection of WIMPs, one of the prime candidates for dark matter searches. During the transportation from Colorado (US) to Gran Sasso (Italy) cosmic ray interactions produce ${}^{37}Ar$ in the UAr. Narrow peaks corresponding to L-shell (0.27 keV) and K-shell (2.82 keV) electron capture are visible in the DS-50 70-day data after UAr is filled in the detector. This study aims to determine the decay rate of ${}^{37}Ar$ using DS-50 experiment data, calculate its initial activity, and independently estimate the expected activation based on measured cross-sections. The results from the DS-50 ${}^{37}Ar$ are important to validate the estimation of cosmic activation of ${}^{39}Ar$ as well as ${}^{37}Ar$ for future detectors. We obtained measurements of the decay time, L/K branching ratio, and initial activity, which were then compared to the estimated activation values.

Materiales de la presentación

Iftikhar_Lidine-2023.pdf