Abstract
We describe the purification of xenon from traces of the radioactive noble gas radon using a cryogenic distillation column. The distillation column was integrated into the gas purification loop of the XENON100 detector for online radon removal. This enabled us to significantly reduce the constant ^{222}Rn background originating from radon emanation. After inserting an auxiliary ^{222}Rn emanation source in the gas loop, we determined a radon reduction factor of R,>,27 (95% C.L.) for the distillation column by monitoring the ^{222}Rn activity concentration inside the XENON100 detector.
Highlights
Intrinsic contaminations of radioisotopes in liquid xenon detectors are a serious background source in rare-event experiments such as searches for dark matter [1,2,3,4] and neutrinoless double beta-decay searches [5]
While krypton can be removed by cryogenic distillation before the start of a measurement [6,7,8,9], 222Rn is continuously produced inside detector materials due to the decay of trace amounts of 226Ra
This effect is enhanced in a multiple-stage distillation column which can be used as an radon removal system (RRS)
Summary
Intrinsic contaminations of radioisotopes in liquid xenon detectors are a serious background source in rare-event experiments such as searches for dark matter [1,2,3,4] and neutrinoless double beta-decay searches [5]. Radon is depleted in the boiloff gas above a liquid xenon reservoir due to its lower vapor pressure compared to xenon (single-stage distillation) [13]. This effect is enhanced in a multiple-stage distillation column which can be used as an RRS. This paper describes the successful operation of a radon removal system based on cryogenic distillation for liquid xenon detectors. The observed radon reduction and the purification power of the used distillation column are presented in Sects. 5 and 6, respectively
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
