Calibration of the liquid argon ionization response to low energy electronic and nuclear recoils with DarkSide-50

DarkSide-50 has demonstrated the high potential of dual-phase liquid argon time projection chambers in exploring interactions of WIMPs in the GeV/c(2) mass range. The technique, based on the detection of the ionization signal amplified via electroluminescence in the gas phase, allows us to explore recoil energies down to the sub-keV range. We report here on the DarkSide-50 measurement of the ionization yield of electronic recoils down to similar to 180 eV(er), exploiting Ar-37 and Ar-39 decays, and extrapolated to a few ionization electrons with the Thomas-Imel box model. Moreover, we present a model-dependent determination of the ionization response to nuclear recoils down to similar to 500 eV(nr), the lowest ever achieved in liquid argon, using in situ neutron calibration sources and external datasets from neutron beam experiments.

Automated summary

DarkSide-50 has shown the high potential of dual-phase liquid argon time projection chambers in exploring WIMP interactions in the GeV/c(2) mass range, detecting recoil energies down to the sub-keV range. The ionization yield of electronic recoils down to about 180 eV was measured, while a model-dependent determination of the ionization response to nuclear recoils down to around 500 eV was achieved, the lowest ever in liquid argon. Neutron calibration sources and external datasets from neutron beam experiments were used in the research.