The NEXT-100 Detector

Abstract

The NEXT collaboration is dedicated to the study of double beta decays of ${}^{136}$Xe using a high-pressure gas electroluminescent time projection chamber. This advanced technology combines exceptional energy resolution ($\le 1\%$ FWHM at the $Q_{\beta \beta }$ value of the neutrinoless double beta decay) and powerful topological event discrimination. Building on the achievements of the NEXT-White detector, the NEXT-100 detector started taking data at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC) in May of 2024. Designed to operate with xenon gas at 13.5 bar, NEXT-100 consists of a time projection chamber where the energy and the spatial pattern of the ionising particles in the detector are precisely retrieved using two sensor planes (one with photo-multiplier tubes and the other with silicon photo-multipliers). The detector has been operating at stable conditions using argon and xenon gases at $\sim$4 bar and drift fields of 74 V/cm and 118 V/cm, respectively. Alpha decays from the ${}^{222}$Rn chain have been used to test and monitor the stability of the detector, showing a constant electron lifetime in the drift volume. In this paper, in addition to reporting the results of the commissioning run, we provide a detailed description of the NEXT-100 detector, describe its assembly, and present the current estimation of the radiopurity budget.

References in corpus (17)

• Initial results of NEXT-DEMO, a large-scale prototype of the NEXT-100 experiment
• Gaseous and dual-phase time projection chambers for imaging rare processes
• Measurements of the intrinsic quantum efficiency and absorption length of tetraphenyl butadiene thin films in the vacuum ultraviolet regime
• The Next White (NEW) detector
• Operation and first results of the NEXT-DEMO prototype using a silicon photomultiplier tracking array
• Energy calibration of the NEXT-White detector with 1% resolution near Q${}_{\beta \beta }$ of ${}^{136}$Xe
• Measurement of the ${}^{136}$Xe two-neutrino double beta decay half-life via direct background subtraction in NEXT
• Demonstration of neutrinoless double beta decay searches in gaseous xenon with NEXT
• Radiogenic backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment
• Demonstration of the event identification capabilities of the NEXT-White detector
• Energy Resolution studies for NEXT
• Boosting background suppression in the NEXT experiment through Richardson-Lucy deconvolution
• Initial results on energy resolution of the NEXT-White detector
• Electron drift properties in high pressure gaseous xenon
• Dependence of polytetrafluoroethylene reflectance on thickness at visible and ultraviolet wavelengths in air
• Measurement of radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment
• Design, characterization and installation of the NEXT-100 cathode and electroluminescence regions

Cited by in corpus (2)

• First results of the NEXT-100 detector using ${}^{83m}$Kr decays
• High Voltage Delivery and Distribution for the NEXT-100 Time Projection Chamber