Calibration, event reconstruction, data analysis and limits calculation for the LUX dark matter experiment

Abstract

The LUX experiment has performed searches for dark matter particles scattering elastically on xenon nuclei, leading to stringent upper limits on the nuclear scattering cross sections for dark matter. Here, for results derived from $1.4\times 10^4\mathrm{kg}\mathrm{days}$ of target exposure in 2013, details of the calibration, event-reconstruction, modeling, and statistical tests that underlie the results are presented. Detector performance is characterized, including measured efficiencies, stability of response, position resolution, and discrimination between electron- and nuclear-recoil populations. Models are developed for the drift field, optical properties, background populations, the electron- and nuclear-recoil responses, and the absolute rate of low-energy background events. Innovations in the analysis include in situ measurement of the photomultipliers' response to xenon scintillation photons, verification of fiducial mass with a low-energy internal calibration source, and new empirical models for low-energy signal yield based on large-sample, in situ calibrations.

References in corpus (57)

• Planck 2015 results. XIII. Cosmological parameters
• Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Three Year Results: Implications for Cosmology
• Asymptotic formulae for likelihood-based tests of new physics
• First results from the LUX dark matter experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
• Results from a search for dark matter in the complete LUX exposure
• Asymmetric Dark Matter
• Asymmetric Dark Matter: Theories, Signatures, and Constraints
• Physics reach of the XENON1T dark matter experiment
• Improved Limits on Scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles from Reanalysis of 2013 LUX data
• The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) Experiment
• Liquid Xenon Detectors for Particle Physics and Astrophysics
• The shape of the SDSS DR5 galaxy power spectrum
• NEST: A Comprehensive Model for Scintillation Yield in Liquid Xenon
• Measurement of the double-βdecay half-life of ^{136}Xe with the KamLAND-Zen experiment
• Large-scale nuclear structure calculations for spin-dependent WIMP scattering with chiral effective field theory currents
• The Astrophysical Uncertainties Of Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiments
• An improved measurement of the 2νββ half-life of Xe-136 with EXO-200
• Results on the Spin-Dependent Scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles on Nucleons from the Run 3 Data of the LUX Experiment
• First limits on WIMP nuclear recoil signals in ZEPLIN-II: a two phase xenon detector for dark matter detection
• Design and Performance of the XENON10 Dark Matter Experiment
• LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Conceptual Design Report
• The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector: instrument design, manufacture and commissioning
• Tritium calibration of the LUX dark matter experiment
• Observation and applications of single-electron charge signals in the XENON100 experiment
• A Model of Nuclear Recoil Scintillation Efficiency in Noble Liquids
• Neutrino physics with multi-ton scale liquid xenon detectors
• Radiogenic and Muon-Induced Backgrounds in the LUX Dark Matter Detector
• Enhancement of NEST Capabilities for Simulating Low-Energy Recoils in Liquid Xenon
• Rayleigh Scattering in Rare Gas Liquids
• A Global Analysis of Light and Charge Yields in Liquid Xenon
• Calibration of a Liquid Xenon Detector with Kr-83m
• Spatially uniform calibration of a liquid xenon detector at low energies using 83m-Kr
• Secondary Scintillation Yield in Pure Xenon
• Interplay between scintillation and ionization in liquid xenon Dark Matter searches
• Technical Results from the Surface Run of the LUX Dark Matter Experiment
• Position Reconstruction in a Dual Phase Xenon Scintillation Detector
• Single electron emission in two-phase xenon with application to the detection of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering
• Low-energy (0.7-74 keV) nuclear recoil calibration of the LUX dark matter experiment using D-D neutron scattering kinematics
• A simulation toolkit for electroluminescence assessment in rare event experiments
• Measurement of single electron emission in two-phase xenon
• Ultra-Low Energy Calibration of LUX Detector using ${}^{127}$Xe Electron Capture
• An Ultra-Low Background PMT for Liquid Xenon Detectors
• Reflectance of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) for Xenon Scintillation Light
• The Sanford Underground Research Facility at Homestake
• LUXSim: A Component-Centric Approach to Low-Background Simulations
• Chromatographic separation of radioactive noble gases from xenon
• ${}^{83\text{m}}$Kr calibration of the 2013 LUX dark matter search
• Position Reconstruction in LUX
• Detection of krypton in xenon for dark matter applications
• Modeling Pulse Characteristics in Xenon with NEST
• Data Acquisition and Readout System for the LUX Dark Matter Experiment
• 3D Modeling of Electric Fields in the LUX Detector
• Proposed low-energy absolute calibration of nuclear recoils in a dual-phase noble element TPC using D-D neutron scattering kinematics
• Xenon purity analysis for EXO-200 via mass spectrometry
• FPGA-based Trigger System for the LUX Dark Matter Experiment
• A model of the reflection distribution in the vacuum ultra violet region
• The LUX Prototype Detector: Heat Exchanger Development

Cited by in corpus (36)

• Projected WIMP sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment
• Results on the Spin-Dependent Scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles on Nucleons from the Run 3 Data of the LUX Experiment
• A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics
• Results of a Search for Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using 2013 LUX Data
• Directly detecting sub-GeV dark matter with electrons from nuclear scattering
• Investigation of background electron emission in the LUX detector
• A Review of Basic Energy Reconstruction Techniques in Liquid Xenon and Argon Detectors for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics Using NEST
• Search for annual and diurnal rate modulations in the LUX experiment
• Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers
• Simulations of Events for the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Experiment
• Electron extraction efficiency study for dual-phase xenon dark matter experiments
• Projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment to the $0\nu \beta \beta$ decay of ${}^{136}$Xe
• Direct Detection of Dark Matter -- APPEC Committee Report
• Measurement of the scintillation and ionization response of liquid xenon at MeV energies in the EXO-200 experiment
• Liquid xenon scintillation measurements and pulse shape discrimination in the LUX dark matter detector
• Projected sensitivities of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment to new physics via low-energy electron recoils
• Extending light WIMP searches to single scintillation photons in LUX
• Improving sensitivity to low-mass dark matter in LUX using a novel electrode background mitigation technique
• Proposed low-energy absolute calibration of nuclear recoils in a dual-phase noble element TPC using D-D neutron scattering kinematics
• Investigating the XENON1T Low-Energy Electronic Recoil Excess Using NEST
• New constraints on ultraheavy dark matter from the LZ experiment
• Photoluminescence response of acrylic (PMMA) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to ultraviolet light
• The XLZD Design Book: Towards the Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics
• First direct detection constraint on mirror dark matter kinetic mixing using LUX 2013 data
• Correlated Single- and Few-Electron Backgrounds Milliseconds after Interactions in Dual-Phase Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chambers
• Detector signal characterization with a Bayesian network in XENONnT
• Measurements of Angle-Resolved Reflectivity of PTFE in Liquid Xenon with IBEX
• Inelastic dark matter nucleus scattering
• Fast and Flexible Analysis of Direct Dark Matter Search Data with Machine Learning
• Analysis of ${}^{83m}$Kr Prompt Scintillation Signals in the PIXeY Detector
• A machine learning-based methodology for pulse classification in dual-phase xenon time projection chambers
• Search for two neutrino double electron capture of ${}^{124}$Xe and ${}^{126}$Xe in the full exposure of the LUX detector
• Isospin-violating dark matter at liquid noble detectors: new constraints, future projections, and an exploration of target complementarity
• Nuclear Recoil Calibration at Sub-keV Energies in LUX and Its Impact on Dark Matter Search Sensitivity
• LUX Trigger Efficiency
• State of the Art in Direct Dark Matter Detectors: Technologies, Performance, and Future Directions