Quenching factor measurement in low pressure gas detector for directional dark matter search

TL;DR

This paper reports on measurements of the ionization quenching factor in low-pressure gas detectors, which are crucial for accurately reconstructing recoil energies in directional dark matter searches using gaseous mu-TPC detectors.

Contribution

It provides new experimental data on ionization quenching factors for various gas mixtures at room temperature, aiding in precise recoil energy measurement for dark matter detection.

Findings

Measured ionization quenching factors for different gases.

Improved understanding of energy deposition in gaseous detectors.

Enhanced accuracy in directional dark matter detection.

Abstract

There is considerable experimental effort dedicated to the directional detection of particle dark matter. Gaseous mu-TPC detectors present the privileged features of being able to reconstruct the track and the energy of the recoil nucleus following the interaction. A precise measurement of the recoil energy is a key point for the directional search strategy. Quenching has to be taken into account, i.e. only a certain fraction of the recoil energy is deposited in the ionization channel. Measurements of the ionization quenching factor for different gas mixture at room temperature have been made with a dedicated ion beam facility at the LPSC of Grenoble.