1. Status of the TREX-DM experiment at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory
- Author
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J. Castel, H. Mirallas, I. Coarasa, F.J. Iguaz, I. G. Irastorza, S. Cebrián, J.G. Garza, T. Dafni, G. Luzón, E. Ruiz-Choliz, J. Galán, F. Aznar, A. Ortiz de Solórzano, and J.A. Villar
- Subjects
Nuclear physics ,Physics ,History ,Time projection chamber ,WIMP ,Bar (music) ,Canfranc Underground Laboratory ,Detector ,MicroMegas detector ,Electron equivalent ,Computer Science Applications ,Education - Abstract
The TREX-DM experiment is conceived to look for low mass WIMPs by means of a gas time projection chamber equipped with novel micromegas readout planes at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. The detector can hold 20 l of pressurized gas up to 10 bar, which corresponds to 0.30 kg of Ar, or alternatively, 0.16 kg of Ne. The micromegas will be read with a self-triggered acquisition, allowing for effective thresholds below 0.4 keV (electron equivalent). The preliminary background model, following a complete material screening program, points to levels of the order of 1-10 counts keV−1 kg−1 d−1 in the region of interest, making TREX-DM competitive. The status of the commissioning, description of the background model and the corresponding WIMP sensitivity will be presented here.
- Published
- 2020