2025/10/07 by Castel, J., Cebrián, S., Dafni, T. +16
#FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.05877
We report on the successful implementation of an 37Ar calibration source in the TREX-DM detector, a high-pressure time projection chamber designed for low-mass dark matter searches. The 37Ar source was produced through fast neutron activation of CaO powder at the HiSPANoS facility of Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (CNA) in Spain, yielding O(1) kBq of activity. Using a novel combined GEM-Micromegas readout system, we successfully detected both characteristic emissions from 37Ar decay (2.82 keV and 270 eV) and achieved unprecedented energy threshold performance in TREX-DM, approaching the single-electron ionization energy of argon.