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Nuclear-recoil energy scale in CDMS II silicon dark-matter detectors
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Elsevier, 2018.
-
Abstract
- The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment aims to detect dark matter particles that elastically scatter from nuclei in semiconductor detectors. The resulting nuclear-recoil energy depositions are detected by ionization and phonon sensors. Neutrons produce a similar spectrum of low-energy nuclear recoils in such detectors, while most other backgrounds produce electron recoils. The absolute energy scale for nuclear recoils is necessary to interpret results correctly. The energy scale can be determined in CDMS II silicon detectors using neutrons incident from a broad-spectrum $^{252}$Cf source, taking advantage of a prominent resonance in the neutron elastic scattering cross section of silicon at a recoil (neutron) energy near 20 (182) keV. Results indicate that the phonon collection efficiency for nuclear recoils is $4.8^{+0.7}_{-0.9}$% lower than for electron recoils of the same energy. Comparisons of the ionization signals for nuclear recoils to those measured previously by other groups at higher electric fields indicate that the ionization collection efficiency for CDMS II silicon detectors operated at $\sim$4 V/cm is consistent with 100% for nuclear recoils below 20 keV and gradually decreases for larger energies to $\sim$75% at 100 keV. The impact of these measurements on previously published CDMS II silicon results is small.<br />Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, 1 table, 1 appendix
- Subjects :
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors
Physics::Instrumentation and Detectors
Dark matter
FOS: Physical sciences
Electron
01 natural sciences
7. Clean energy
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear physics
High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
Recoil
Ionization
0103 physical sciences
Neutron
Physics::Atomic Physics
010306 general physics
Nuclear Experiment
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Instrumentation
Physics
Elastic scattering
010308 nuclear & particles physics
Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
3. Good health
Semiconductor detector
Cryogenic Dark Matter Search
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....aaaa9fb9d5baf9102909dec202fe0351