Measurement of the directional sensitivity of DMTPC detectors
| Title: | Measurement of the directional sensitivity of DMTPC detectors |
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| Authors: | Deaconu, Cosmin, Leyton, Michael, Corliss, Ross, Druitt, Gabriela, Eggleston, Richard, Guerrero, Natalia, Henderson, Shawn, Lopez, Jeremy, Monroe, Jocelyn, Fisher, Peter |
| Source: | Phys. Rev. D 95, 122002 (2017) |
| Publication Year: | 2017 |
| Collection: | Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Experiment Physics (Other) |
| Subject Terms: | Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, High Energy Physics - Experiment, Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors |
| More Details: | The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) is a direction-sensitive detector designed to measure the direction of recoiling $^{19}$F and $^{12}$C nuclei in low-pressure CF$_4$ gas using optical and charge readout systems. In this paper, we employ measurements from two DMTPC detectors, with operating pressures of 30-60 torr, to develop and validate a model of the directional response and performance of such detectors as a function of recoil energy. Using our model as a benchmark, we formulate the necessary specifications for a scalable directional detector with sensitivity comparable to that of current-generation counting (non-directional) experiments, which measure only recoil energy. Assuming the performance of existing DMTPC detectors, as well as current limits on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleus cross section, we find that a 10-20 kg scale direction-sensitive detector is capable of correlating the measured direction of nuclear recoils with the predicted direction of incident dark matter particles and providing decisive (3$\sigma$) confirmation that a candidate signal from a non-directional experiment was indeed induced by elastic scattering of dark matter particles off of target nuclei. Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D. Added color figures, switched to more compact layout, and fixed some references |
| Document Type: | Working Paper |
| DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.122002 |
| Access URL: | http://arxiv.org/abs/1705.05965 |
| Accession Number: | edsarx.1705.05965 |
| Database: | arXiv |
| DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.122002 |
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