Junseok Huh

Review of the XENON dark matter detector

Started Mar. 23, 2023

Abstract or project description

This study aims to examine the methodology behind the XENON Dark Matter detector, which utilizes liquid Xenon as a medium to detect signals generated from collisions between dark matter and known particles. With the significance of Dark Matter in galactic orbitals, velocity dispersions, and rotational curves, the potential implications of verifying Dark Matter through the XENONnT experiment are demonstrated, as well as the similarities and differences with other experiments that sought to directly detect the presence of Dark Matter in our cosmos. The study further discusses the methodology of the experiment, such as the production of photons and energy from the theoretical dark matter-particle collisions and the infrastructure of the XENON detector—namely the photomultiplier tubes and the time-projection chamber utilized for tagging and identifying signals, along with the recovery and storage system RESTOX II—that aids in converting raw signals into interpretable data. Major sources of noise for the detection of dark matter signals–including cosmic rays, radioactive material, and neutron recoil background signals–are explained, alongside the improvements that were made to previous XENON experiments to increase the sensitivity of the detector and to better reconstruct scintillation signals. Particularly, the geographical location of the XENONnT detector, along with the nuclear and muon veto systems are addressed. Moreover, recent data from the XENONnT experiment regarding enhanced sensitivity and background reduction capacity are evaluated, highlighting the implications of currently collected data for future Liquid Xenon detectors.