English

Calibration of liquid argon and neon detectors with $^{83}Kr^m$

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics 2010-04-14 v1

Abstract

We report results from tests of 83^{83}Krm^{\mathrm{m}}, as a calibration source in liquid argon and liquid neon. 83^{83}Krm^{\mathrm{m}} atoms are produced in the decay of 83^{83}Rb, and a clear 83^{83}Krm^{\mathrm{m}} scintillation peak at 41.5 keV appears in both liquids when filling our detector through a piece of zeolite coated with 83^{83}Rb. Based on this scintillation peak, we observe 6.0 photoelectrons/keV in liquid argon with a resolution of 6% (σ\sigma/E) and 3.0 photoelectrons/keV in liquid neon with a resolution of 19% (σ\sigma/E). The observed peak intensity subsequently decays with the 83^{83}Krm^{\mathrm{m}} half-life after stopping the fill, and we find evidence that the spatial location of 83^{83}Krm^{\mathrm{m}} atoms in the chamber can be resolved. 83^{83}Krm^{\mathrm{m}} will be a useful calibration source for liquid argon and neon dark matter and solar neutrino detectors.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0911.5453,
  title  = {Calibration of liquid argon and neon detectors with $^{83}Kr^m$},
  author = {W. H. Lippincott and S. B. Cahn and D. Gastler and L. W. Kastens and E. Kearns and D. N. McKinsey and J. A. Nikkel},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0911.5453},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

7 pages, 12 figures