Related papers: Radon backgrounds in the DEAP-1 liquid-argon-based…
The specific activity of the beta decay of $^{39}$Ar in atmospheric argon is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector. DEAP-3600, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB, uses a total of (3269 $\pm$ 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the…
The first-year results from DEAP-3600, a single-phase liquid argon direct-detection dark matter experiment, were recently reported. At first sight, they seem to provide no new constraints, as the limit lies well within the region already…
The Dark matter Experiment using Argon Pulse-shape discrimination (DEAP) has been designed for a direct detection search for particle dark matter using a single-phase liquid argon target. The projected cross section sensitivity for…
Future large liquid argon direct dark matter detectors can benefit greatly from an efficient surface background rejection technique. To aid the development of these large scale detectors a test stand, Argon-1, has been constructed at…
Radioactive radon atoms originating from the long-lived primordial $^{238}\mathrm{U}$ and $^{232}\mathrm{Th}$ decay chains are constantly emanated from the surfaces of most materials. The radon atoms and their radioactive daughter isotopes…
Radon (Rn) and its decay daughters are a well-known source of background in direct WIMP detection experiments, as either a Rn decay daughter or an alpha particle emitted from a thin inner surface layer of a detector could produce a…
We describe a technique, applicable to liquid-argon-based dark matter detectors, allowing for discrimination of alpha-decays in detector regions with incomplete light collection from nuclear-recoil-like events. Nuclear recoils and alpha…
DEAP-3600 is a single-phase liquid argon (LAr) direct-detection dark matter experiment operating 2 km underground at SNOLAB (Sudbury, Canada). The detector consists of 3.3 tons of LAr contained in a spherical acrylic vessel. At a WIMP mass…
The MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment will exploit a single-phase liquid-argon detector instrumented with photomultiplier tubes submerged in the cryogen with nearly 4pi coverage of a 500 kg (150 kg) target (fiducial) mass. The high light…
One major background in direct searches for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) comes from the deposition of radon progeny on detector surfaces. The most dangerous surface background is the $^{206}$Pb recoils produced by $^{210}$Po…
In the DEAP-3600 dark matter search experiment, precise reconstruction of the positions of scattering events in liquid argon is key for background rejection and defining a fiducial volume that enhances dark matter candidate events…
A potential background for the SuperCDMS SNOLAB dark matter experiment is from radon daughters that have plated out onto detector surfaces. To reach desired backgrounds, understanding plate-out rates during detector fabrication as well as…
We construct a high sensitivity radon pilot detector using liquid scintillator dissolved radon for the CDEX rare-event searches program. The CDEX-10 project employs a germanium detector array immersed in a massive liquid nitrogen tank.…
As liquid argon (LAr) detectors are made at progressively larger sizes, accurate models of LAr optical properties become increasingly important for simulating light transport, understanding signals, and developing analyses. The refractive…
The ArDM project aims at operating a large noble liquid detector to search for direct evidence of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP) as Dark Matter in the universe. Background sources relevant to ton-scale liquid and gaseous argon…
The NEXT-100 detector at the LSC aims at the first competitive search for the \bbnonu decay using a high-pressure \Xe{136} electroluminescent time projection chamber. The first low-background run of NEXT-100 at 3.95 bar has been devoted to…
The LZ dark matter detector, like many other rare-event searches, will suffer from backgrounds due to the radioactive decay of radon daughters. In order to achieve its science goals, the concentration of radon within the xenon should not…
A technique using layered wavelength shifting, scintillating and non-scintillating films is presented to achieve discrimination of surface $\alpha$ events from low-energy nuclear recoils in liquid argon detectors. A discrimination power…
The next generation low-background detectors operating underground aim for unprecedented low levels of radioactive backgrounds. Although the radioactive decays of airborne radon (particularly Rn-222) and its subsequent progeny present in an…
Decays of radioisotopes on inner detector surfaces can pose a major background concern for the direct detection of dark matter. While these backgrounds are conventionally mitigated with position cuts, these cuts reduce the exposure of the…