Dark Matter experiments are recently focusing their detection techniques in low-mass WIMPs, which requires the use of light elements and low energy threshold. In this context, we present the TREX-DM experiment, a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection. Its main goal is the operation of an active detection mass ∼0.300 kg, with an energy threshold below 0.4 keVee and fully built with previously selected radiopure materials. This article describes the actual setup, the first results of the comissioning in Ar+2\%iC4H10 at 1.2 bar and the future updates for a possible physics run at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in 2016. A first background model is also presented, based on Geant4 simulations and a muon/electron discrimination method. In a conservative scenario, TREX-DM could be sensitive to DAMA/LIBRA and other hints of positive WIMPs signals, with some space for improvement with a neutron/electron discrimination method or the use of other light gases.
@article{arxiv.1503.07085,
title = {TREX-DM: a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low mass WIMP detection},
author = {F. J. Iguaz and J. G. Garza and F. Aznar and J. F. Castel and S. Cebrian and T. Dafni and J. A. Garcia and H. Gomez and D. Gonzalez-Diaz and I. G. Irastorza and A. Lagraba and G. Luzon and A. Peiro and A. Rodriguez},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.07085},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
Proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Large TPCs for Low-Energy Rare Event Detection