Status of the TREX-DM experiment at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory

TL;DR

The TREX-DM experiment at Canfranc is developing a low-threshold gas TPC to search for low mass WIMPs, with promising background levels and ongoing commissioning efforts.

Contribution

This paper reports the current status, background modeling, and sensitivity prospects of the TREX-DM low-mass WIMP search experiment.

Findings

Effective thresholds below 0.4 keV achieved

Background levels estimated at 1-10 counts keV-1 kg-1 day

Detector commissioning is underway with promising sensitivity

Abstract

The TREX-DM experiment is conceived to look for low mass WIMPs by means of a gas time projection chamber equipped with novel micromegas readout planes at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. The detector can hold 20 l of pressurized gas up to 10 bar, which corresponds to 0.30 kg of Ar, or alternatively, 0.16 kg of Ne. The micromegas will be read with a self-triggered acquisition, allowing for effective thresholds below 0.4 keV (electron equivalent). The preliminary background model, following a complete material screening program, points to levels of the order of 1-10 counts keV-1 kg-1 d-1 in the region of interest, making TREX-DM competitive. The status of the commissioning, description of the background model and the corresponding WIMP sensitivity will be presented here.