Abstract
ANAIS is a direct detection dark matter experiment aiming at the study of the annual modulation expected in the interaction rate. It uses same target and technique as the DAMA/LIBRA experiment, which reported a highly significant positive modulation compatible with that expected for dark matter particles distributed in the galactic halo. However, other very sensitive experiments do not find any hint of particles with the required properties, although comparison is model dependent. In 2017, ANAIS-112 experiment was installed at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC), in Spain, and after the commissioning run for calibration and general assessment, ANAIS-112 started data taking in dark matter mode on August 3rd, 2017. It consists of nine NaI(Tl) modules, amounting 112.5 kg of mass in total. Here we report on the experimental apparatus and detector performance after the first year of data taking. Total live time available amounts to 341.72 days, being the corresponding exposure 105.32 kg times year. ANAIS-112 has achieved an analysis energy threshold of 1 keVee and an average background in the region of interest, from 1 to 6 keVee, of 3.6 counts/keVee/kg/day after correcting by the event selection efficiencies. In these conditions, ANAIS-112 will be able to test the DAMA/LIBRA result at three sigma level in five years of data taking.
Highlights
There is overwhelming evidence accumulating over the last decades supporting that a large fraction of the Universe energy-mass budget is not explained in the frame of the standard model of the particle physics if assuming the cosmological standard model [1]
ANAIS-112 can test the DAMA/LIBRA result in a model independent way at 3 sigma C.L. in 5 years of data taking, having a significant discovery potential if the modulation signal is effectively due to dark matter particles [15]
The Region of Interest (ROI) for the annual modulation analysis is at very-low energy, below 10 keV,1 a good calibration in the high energy region is mandatory in order to verify the background model and properly select very relevant low energy events populations from coincidences with high energy gammas
Summary
There is overwhelming evidence accumulating over the last decades supporting that a large fraction of the Universe energy-mass budget is not explained in the frame of the standard model of the particle physics if assuming the cosmological standard model [1]. There is a long-standing positive result on the field: the observation of a high statistically significant annual modulation in the detection rate, compatible with that expected for galactic halo dark matter particles, at the DAMA/LIBRA experiment [6,7,8], in operation at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, in Italy. ANAIS-112 can test the DAMA/LIBRA result in a model independent way at 3 sigma C.L. in 5 years of data taking, having a significant discovery potential if the modulation signal is effectively due to dark matter particles [15]. The hut housing the experiment is located at the hall B of LSC under 2450 m.w.e. rock overburden
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