Long-term study of backgrounds in the DRIFT-II directional dark matter experiment

Abstract

Low-pressure gas Time Projection Chambers being developed for directional dark matter searches offer a technology with strong particle identification capability combined with the potential to produce a definitive detection of Galactic Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter. A source of events able to mimic genuine WIMP-induced nuclear recoil tracks arises in such experiments from the decay of radon gas inside the vacuum vessel. The recoils that result from associated daughter nuclei are termed Radon Progeny Recoils (RPRs). We present here experimental data from a long-term study using the DRIFT-II directional dark matter experiment at the Boulby Underground Laboratory of the RPRs, and other backgrounds that are revealed by relaxing the normal cuts that are applied to WIMP search data. By detailed examination of event classes in both spatial and time coordinates using 5.5 years of data, we demonstrate the ability to determine the origin of 4 specific background populations and describe development of new technology and mitigation strategies to suppress them.

15 pages, 12 figures. To be published in JINST. This paper replaces the one entitled "Radon backgrounds in the DRIFT-II directional dark matter experiments", which was withdrawn to address some scientific and editorial issues

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• Systematic study of trace radioactive impurities in candidate construction materials for EXO-200
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Cited by in corpus (10)

• A review of the discovery reach of directional Dark Matter detection
• Direct Detection of Dark Matter with MadDM v.2.0
• The novel properties of SF${}_6$ for directional dark matter experiments
• Radon in the DRIFT-II directional dark matter TPC: emanation, detection and mitigation
• Reducing DRIFT Backgrounds with a Submicron Aluminized-Mylar Cathode
• Performance of an optically read out time projection chamber with ultra-relativistic electrons
• First background-free limit from a directional dark matter experiment: results from a fully fiducialised DRIFT detector
• Constraining Radon Backgrounds in LZ
• Test of low radioactive molecular sieves for radon filtration in SF6 gas-based rare-event physics experiments
• Dark Matter Directionality Revisited with a High Pressure Xenon Gas Detector