Underground Argon Research Articles

Production of the DarkSide-20k photo-detectors

DarkSide-20k is a 50t dual phase liquid argon time projection chamber currently under construction in Hall-C of LNGS. DarkSide-20k is projected to lead the search for WIMP like dark matter, probing down to WIMP-nucleon cross sections of 10−48cm2 for a WIMP mass of 0.1TeV. In order to achieve this goal DarkSide-20k employs novel techniques and technologies including: the use of underground argon depleted in the radioisotope 39Ar; a neutron veto integrated into the TPC mechanical structure; large-area cryogenic SiPM array photodetectors. These bespoke SiPMs, assembled into photodetector modules, instrument both the veto and TPC detectors. The design and ongoing production of these photodetector modules will be reported.

The DarkSide-20k underground argon procurement chain

The DarkSide-20k experiment searches for dark matter by looking for interactions of WIMPs in a 50-tonnes target of liquid argon using double-phase time projection chamber (TPC) technology. The key component of the experiment is low radioactivity argon depleted in the isotope 39Ar. Unfortunately, 39Ar is naturally present in atmospheric argon and it is constantly produced due to the interaction with cosmic rays. Finding a source of depleted argon was the first step of the Collaboration when it started to size the DarkSide-20k detector.The procurement chain begins with the Urania plant in Colorado, which can produce argon with a purity of 99.99% from a crude CO2 stream extracted from a deep well, at a rate of about 250 kg per day. The plant has already been fabricated while the site is being prepared for installation. After the extraction and purification of 120 t of underground argon (UAr), it will be transported to Sardinia, Italy, where the ARIA plant, consisting of a 350 m cryogenic distillation column, will further remove impurities up to 2 orders of magnitude. The final purity is expected to be 99.9999%. After the ARIA purification stage, the ultra-pure UAr will be delivered to the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, L'Aquila, Italy where it will fill the DarkSide-20k TPC.The ARIA plant has already been fully fabricated and is now in the installation phase in a mine shaft. A shorter version, about 26 m high, has been tested over the last three years with very positive results. We were able to measure the separation factor between two isotopes of nitrogen (29N2, 28N2) and three of argon (40Ar, 38Ar, 36Ar) thus validating the capability of performing isotopic distillation with ARIA.

The DarkSide-20k TPC and underground argon cryogenic system

DarkSide-20k (DS-20k) will exploit the physical and chemical properties of liquid argon (LAr) housed within a large dual-phase time project chamber (TPC) in its direct search for dark matter. The TPC will utilize a compact, integrated design with many novel features to enable the 20t fiducial volume of underground argon. Underground Argon (UAr) is sourced from underground CO_22 wells and depleted in the radioactive isotope ^{39}39Ar, greatly enhancing the experimental sensitivity to dark matter interactions. Sourcing and transporting the \mathcal{O}𝒪(100t) of UAr for (DS-20k) is costly, and a dedicated single-closed-loop cryogenic system has been designed, constructed, and tested to handle the valuable UAr. We present an overview of the (DS-20k) TPC design and the first results from the UAr cryogenic system.

Study of cosmogenic activation above ground for the DarkSide-20k experiment

The activation of materials due to exposure to cosmic rays may become an important background source for experiments investigating rare event phenomena. DarkSide-20k, currently under construction at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, is a direct detection experiment for galactic dark matter particles, using a two-phase liquid-argon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) filled with 49.7 tonnes (active mass) of Underground Argon (UAr) depleted in 39Ar. Despite the outstanding capability of discriminating γ/β background in argon TPCs, this background must be considered because of induced dead time or accidental coincidences mimicking dark-matter signals and it is relevant for low-threshold electron-counting measurements. Here, the cosmogenic activity of relevant long-lived radioisotopes induced in the experiment has been estimated to set requirements and procedures during preparation of the experiment and to check that it is not dominant over primordial radioactivity; particular attention has been paid to the activation of the 120 t of UAr used in DarkSide-20k. Expected exposures above ground and production rates, either measured or calculated, have been considered in detail. From the simulated counting rates in the detector due to cosmogenic isotopes, it is concluded that activation in copper and stainless steel is not problematic. The activity of 39Ar induced during extraction, purification and transport on surface is evaluated to be 2.8% of the activity measured in UAr by DarkSide-50 experiment, which used the same underground source, and thus considered acceptable. Other isotopes in the UAr such as 37Ar and 3H are shown not to be relevant due to short half-life and assumed purification methods.

Evaluation of cosmogenic production of 39Ar and 42Ar for rare-event physics using underground argon

Underground argon (UAr) with lower cosmogenic activities of 39Ar and 42Ar has been planned as a detector in detecting scintillation light and charge collection using time projection chambers for dark matter searches and as a veto detector in suppressing backgrounds for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) experiments. Long-lived radioactive isotopes, 39Ar and 42Ar, can also be produced on the surface when UAr is pumped out from a deep well. Understanding the production of long-lived isotopes in Ar is important for utilizing UAr for dark matter and 0νββ experiments in terms of its production, transportation, and storage. Ar exposure to cosmic rays at sea-level is simulated using Geant4 for a given cosmic ray muon, neutron, and proton energy spectrum. We report the simulated cosmogenic production rates of 39Ar, 42Ar, and other long-lived isotopes at sea-level from fast neutrons, high energy muons, and high energy protons. Total production rates of 938.53/kgArday and 5.81 × 10−3/kgArday for 39Ar and 42Ar are found from our simulation. Utilizing these production rates, we set a time limit of 954 days constrained by the production of 39Ar for UAr to be on the surface before it compromises the sensitivity for a dark matter experiment. Similarly, a time limit of 1702 days constrained by the production of 42Ar is found for a 0νββ experiment.

Measurement of the underground argon radiopurity for Dark Matter direct searches

A major worldwide effort is underway to procure the radiopure argon needed for DarkSide-20k (DS-20k), the first large scale detector of the new Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. The Urania project will extract and purify underground argon (UAr) from CO2 wells in the USA at a production rate of about 330 kg/day. Additional chemical purification of the UAr will be required prior to its use in the DS-20k LAr-TPC. The Aria project will purify UAr using a cryogenic distillation column (Seruci-I), located in Sardinia (Italy). Assessing the UAr purity in terms of 39Ar is crucial for the physics program of the DarkSide-20k experiment. DArT is a small (1 litre) radiopure chamber that will measure the 39 Ar depletion factor in the UAr. The detector will be immersed in the active liquid Ar volume of ArDM (LSC, Spain), which will act as a veto for gammas from the detector materials and the surrounding rock. In this article, the status and prospects of the UAr projects for DarkSide-20k are reviewed with a special focus in DArT.

Separating {^{39}hbox {Ar}} from {^{40}hbox {Ar}} by cryogenic distillation with Aria for dark-matter searches

Aria is a plant hosting a {350},hbox {m} cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is being installed in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. It was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of {^{39}hbox {Ar}} in argon extracted from underground sources, called Underground Argon (UAr), which is used for dark-matter searches. Indeed, {^{39}hbox {Ar}} is a beta -emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors. In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of the isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant.

DArT, a detector for measuring the 39Ar depletion factor

One of the most powerful techniques for direct detection of dark matter via elastic scattering of galactic WIMPs is the use of liquid argon time projection chambers. Atmospheric argon (AAr) has a naturally occurring radioactive isotope, 39Ar, of cosmogenic origin. The use of argon extracted from underground wells, deprived of 39Ar, is key to the physics potential of these experiments. The DarkSide-20k (DS-20k) dark matter search experiment will operate with 50 tonnes of radio-pure underground argon (UAr), extracted from the Urania plant in Cortez (U.S.A.) and purified in the Aria distillation plant (Sardinia, Italy). Assessing the radio-purity of UAr in terms of 39Ar is crucial for the success of DS-20k, as well as for future experiments of the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration (GADMC), and will be done with the experiment named DArT in ArDM. DArT is a small chamber that will contain the argon under test. The detector will be immersed in the LAr active volume of the ArDM detector, located at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) in Spain, which will act as active veto for background events coming from photons from detector materials and surrounding rock radioactivity.

Design and construction of a new detector to measure ultra-low radioactive-isotope contamination of argon

Large liquid argon detectors offer one of the best avenues for the detection of galactic weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their scattering on atomic nuclei. The liquid argon target allows exquisite discrimination between nuclear and electron recoil signals via pulse-shape discrimination of the scintillation signals. Atmospheric argon (AAr), however, has a naturally occurring radioactive isotope, 39Ar, a β emitter of cosmogenic origin. For large detectors, the atmospheric 39Ar activity poses pile-up concerns. The use of argon extracted from underground wells, deprived of 39Ar, is key to the physics potential of these experiments. The DarkSide-20k dark matter search experiment will operate a dual-phase time projection chamber with 50 tonnes of radio-pure underground argon (UAr), that was shown to be depleted of 39Ar with respect to AAr by a factor larger than 1400. Assessing the 39Ar content of the UAr during extraction is crucial for the success of DarkSide-20k, as well as for future experiments of the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration (GADMC). This will be carried out by the DArT in ArDM experiment, a small chamber made with extremely radio-pure materials that will be placed at the centre of the ArDM detector, in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) in Spain. The ArDM LAr volume acts as an active veto for background radioactivity, mostly γ-rays from the ArDM detector materials and the surrounding rock. This article describes the DArT in ArDM project, including the chamber design and construction, and reviews the background required to achieve the expected performance of the detector.

Cosmogenic production of Ar39 and Ar37 in argon

We have experimentally determined the production rate of $^{39}$Ar and $^{37}$Ar from cosmic ray neutron interactions in argon at sea level. Understanding these production rates is important for argon-based dark matter experiments that plan to utilize argon extracted from deep underground because it is imperative to know what the ingrowth of $^{39}$Ar will be during the production, transport, and storage of the underground argon. These measurements also allow for the prediction of $^{39}$Ar and $^{37}$Ar concentrations in the atmosphere which can be used to determine the presence of other sources of these isotopes. Through controlled irradiation with a neutron beam that mimics the cosmic ray neutron spectrum, followed by direct counting of $^{39}$Ar and $^{37}$Ar decays with sensitive ultra-low background proportional counters, we determined that the production rate from cosmic ray neutrons at sea-level is expected to be $(759 \pm 128)$ atoms/kg$_\text{Ar}$/day for $^{39}$Ar, and $(51.0 \pm 7.4)$ atoms/kg$_\text{Ar}$/day for $^{37}$Ar. We also performed a survey of the alternate production mechanisms based on the state-of-knowledge of the associated cross-sections to obtain a total sea-level cosmic ray production rate of $(1048 \pm 133)$ atoms/kg$_\text{Ar}$/day for $^{39}$Ar, $(56.7 \pm 7.5)$ atoms/kg$_\text{Ar}$/day for $^{37}$Ar in underground argon, and $(92 \pm 13)$ atoms/kg$_\text{Ar}$/day for $^{37}$Ar in atmospheric argon.

Simulation of argon response and light detection in the DarkSide-50 dual phase TPC

A Geant4-based Monte Carlo package named G4DS has been developed to simulate the response of DarkSide-50, an experiment operating since 2013 at LNGS, designed to detect WIMP interactions in liquid argon. In the process of WIMP searches, DarkSide-50 has achieved two fundamental milestones: the rejection of electron recoil background with a power of ∼107, using the pulse shape discrimination technique, and the measurement of the residual 39Ar contamination in underground argon, ∼3 orders of magnitude lower with respect to atmospheric argon. These results rely on the accurate simulation of the detector response to the liquid argon scintillation, its ionization, and electron-ion recombination processes. This work provides a complete overview of the DarkSide Monte Carlo and of its performance, with a particular focus on PARIS, the custom-made liquid argon response model.

The DarkSide awakens

The DarkSide program at LNGS aims to perform background-free WIMP searches using two phase liquid argon time projection chambers, with the ultimate goal of covering all parameters down to the so-called neutrino floor. One of the distinct features of the program is the use of underground argon with has a reduced content of the radioactive 39Ar compared to atmospheric argon. The DarkSide Collaboration is currently operating the DarkSide-50 experiment, the first such WIMP detector using underground argon. Operations with underground argon indicate a suppression of 39Ar by a factor (1.4 ± 0.2) × 103 relative to atmospheric argon. The new results obtained with DarkSide-50 and the plans for the next steps of the DarkSide program, the 20t fiducial mass DarkSide-20k detector and the 200 t fiducial Argo, are reviewed in this proceedings.

Results from the first use of low radioactivity argon in a dark matter search

Liquid argon is a bright scintillator with potent particle identification properties, making it an attractive target for direct-detection dark matter searches. The DarkSide-50 dark matter search here reports the first WIMP search results obtained using a target of low-radioactivity argon. DarkSide-50 is a dark matter detector, using two-phase liquid argon time projection chamber, located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The underground argon is shown to contain Ar-39 at a level reduced by a factor (1.4 +- 0.2) x 10^3 relative to atmospheric argon. We report a background-free null result from (2616 +- 43) kg d of data, accumulated over 70.9 live-days. When combined with our previous search using an atmospheric argon, the 90 % C.L. upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section based on zero events found in the WIMP search regions, is 2.0 x 10^-44 cm^2 (8.6 x 10^-44 cm^2, 8.0 x 10^-43 cm^2) for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c^2 (1 TeV/c^2 , 10 TeV/c^2).

The DarkSide project

DarkSide is a graded experimental project based on radiopure argon, and is now, and will be, used in direct dark matter searches. The present DarkSide-50 detector, operating at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, is a dual-phase, 50 kg, liquid argon time-projection-chamber surrounded by an active liquid scintillator veto. It is designed to be background free in 3 years of operation. DS-50 performances, when filled with atmospheric argon, are reported. However DS-50 filled with underground argon, shows impressive reduction of the 39Ar isotope. The application of this powerful technology in a future generation of the DarkSide program is discussed.

A study of the trace 39Ar content in argon from deep underground sources

The discovery of argon from deep underground sources with significantly less 39Ar than atmospheric argon was an important step in the development of direct dark matter detection experiments using argon as the active target. We report on the design and operation of a low-background single-phase liquid argon detector that was built to study the 39Ar content of this underground argon. Underground argon from the Kinder Morgan CO2 plant in Cortez, Colorado was determined to have less than 0.65% of the 39Ar activity in atmospheric argon, or 6.6mBq/kg specific 39Ar activity.

DarkSide-50: A WIMP Search with a Two-phase Argon TPC

DarkSide-50 is a two phase argon TPC for direct dark matter detection which is installed at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory, Italy. DarkSide-50 has a 50-kg active volume and will make use of underground argon low in 39Ar. The TPC is installed inside an active neutron veto made with boron-loaded high radiopurity liquid scintillator. The neutron veto is installed inside a 1000 m3 water Cherenkov muon veto. The DarkSide-50 TPC and cryostat are assembled in two radon-free clean rooms to reduce radioactive contaminants. The overall design aims for a background free exposure after selection cuts are applied. The expected sensitivity for WIMP-nucleon cross section is of the order of 10−45cm2 for WIMP masses around 100GeV/c2. The commissioning and performance of the detector are described. Details of the low-radioactivity underground argon and other unique features of the projects are reported.

DarkSide search for dark matter

The DarkSide staged program utilizes a two-phase time projection chamber (TPC) with liquid argon as the target material for the scattering of dark matter particles. Efficient background reduction is achieved using low radioactivity underground argon as well as several experimental handles such as pulse shape, ratio of ionization over scintillation signal, 3D event reconstruction, and active neutron and muon vetos. The DarkSide-10 prototype detector has proven high scintillation light yield, which is a particularly important parameter as it sets the energy threshold for the pulse shape discrimination technique. The DarkSide-50 detector system, currently in commissioning phase at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory, will reach a sensitivity to dark matter spin-independent scattering cross section of 10−45 cm2 within 3 years of operation.

Prediction of underground argon content for dark matter experiments

In this paper, we demonstrate the use of physical models to evaluate the production of $^{39}$Ar and $^{40}$Ar underground. Considering both cosmogenic $^{39}$Ar production and radiogenic $^{40}$Ar production in situ and from external sources, we can derive the ratio of $^{39}$Ar to $^{40}$Ar in underground sources. We show for the first time that the $^{39}$Ar production underground is dominated by stopping negative muon capture on $^{39}$K and ($\alpha,n)$ induced subsequent $^{39}$K(n,p)$^{39}$Ar reactions. The production of $^{39}$Ar is shown as a function of depth. We demonstrate that argon depleted in $^{39}$Ar can be obtained only if the depth of the underground resources is greater than 500 m.w.e. below the surface. Stopping negative muon capture on $^{39}$K dominates over radiogenic production at depths of less than 2000 m.w.e., and that production by muon-induced neutrons is subdominant at any depth. The depletion factor depends strongly on both radioactivity level and potassium content in the rock. We measure the radioactivity concentration and potassium concentration in the rock for a potential site of an underground argon source in South Dakota. Depending on the probability of $^{39}$Ar and $^{40}$Ar produced underground being dissolved in the water, the upper limit of the concentration of $^{39}$Ar in the underground water at this site is estimated to be in a range of a factor of 1.6 to 155 less than the $^{39}$Ar concentration in the atmosphere. The calculation tools presented in this paper are also critical to the dating method with $^{39}$Ar.

Discovery of underground argon with a low level of radioactive 39Ar and possible applications to WIMP dark matter detectors

We report on the first measurement of 39Ar in argon from underground natural gas reservoirs. The gas stored in the US National Helium Reserve was found to contain a low level of 39Ar. The ratio of 39Ar to stable argon was found to be ≤4×10-17 (84% C.L.), less than 5% the value in atmospheric argon (39Ar/Ar=8×10-16). The total quantity of argon currently stored in the National Helium Reserve is estimated at 1000 tons. 39Ar represents one of the most important backgrounds in argon detectors for WIMP dark matter searches. The findings reported demonstrate the possibility of constructing large multi-ton argon detectors with low radioactivity suitable for WIMP dark matter searches.

Discovery of underground argon with low level of radioactive 39Ar and possible applications to WIMP dark matter detectors

We report on the first measurement of 39Ar in argon from underground natural gas reservoirs. The gas stored in the US National Helium Reserve was found to contain a low level of 39Ar. The ratio of 39Ar to stable argon was measured to be ⩽ 4 × 10 - 17 (84% C.L.), less than 5% the value in atmospheric argon ( 39 Ar / Ar = 8 × 10 - 16 ). The total quantity of argon currently stored in the National Helium Reserve is estimated at 1000 tons. 39Ar represents one of the most important backgrounds in argon detectors for WIMP dark matter searches. The findings reported demonstrate the possibility of constructing large multi-ton argon detectors with low radioactivity suitable for WIMP dark matter searches.