2020/04/30 by D. S. Akerib, S. Alsum, H. M. Araújo +102 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Atomic physics #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark matter #Detector #Electron #Ion #Ionization #Nuclear physics #Optics #Particle Detector Development and Performance #Photoelectric effect #Photoionization #Physics #Xenon #physics.ins-det
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.102.092004
published as Phys. Rev. D 102, 092004 (2020) · 17 pages, 13 figures
arxiv created 2020/10/13 · openalex publication_date 2020/11/10 · arxiv updated 2020/11/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Dual-phase xenon detectors, as currently used in direct detection dark matter experiments, have observed elevated rates of background electron events in the low energy region. While this background negatively impacts detector performance in various ways, its origins have only been partially studied. In this paper we report a systematic investigation of the electron pathologies observed in the LUX dark matter experiment. We characterize different electron populations based on their emission intensities and their correlations with preceding energy depositions in the detector. By studying the background under different experimental conditions, we identified the leading emission mechanisms, including photoionization and the photoelectric effect induced by the xenon luminescence, delayed emission of electrons trapped under the liquid surface, capture and release of drifting electrons by impurities, and grid electron emission. We discuss how these backgrounds can be mitigated in LUX and future xenon-based dark matter experiments.