Performance of a cryogenic system prototype for the XENON1T Detector

TL;DR

This paper reports on the development and testing of a cryogenic system prototype for the XENON1T dark matter detector, demonstrating high flow rates and efficient heat exchange for liquid xenon purification.

Contribution

It introduces a novel cryogenic system prototype with high flow capacity and heat exchange efficiency for large-scale liquid xenon detectors.

Findings

Maximum gas flow of 114 SLPM achieved

Heat exchange efficiency over 96% measured

Effective gas circulation and purification demonstrated

Abstract

We have developed an efficient cryogenic system with heat exchange and associated gas purification system, as a prototype for the XENON1T experiment. The XENON1T detector will use about 3 ton of liquid xenon (LXe) at a temperature of 175K as target and detection medium for a dark matter search. In this paper we report results on the cryogenic system performance focusing on the dynamics of the gas circulation-purification through a heated getter, at flow rates above 50 Standard Liter per Minute (SLPM). A maximum flow of 114 SLPM has been achieved, and using two heat exchangers in parallel, a heat exchange efficiency better than 96% has been measured.