A 4 tonne demonstrator for large-scale dual-phase liquid argon time projection chambers

TL;DR

This paper reports on the construction and operation of a 4.2-tonne dual-phase liquid argon TPC prototype, demonstrating charge amplification, scintillation, and purity levels crucial for large-scale neutrino detectors like DUNE.

Contribution

It presents the largest dual-phase liquid argon TPC prototype to date, detailing its design, operation, and initial performance results for future large-scale neutrino experiments.

Findings

Achieved significant charge amplification in the prototype

Demonstrated effective scintillation and electroluminescence detection

Confirmed high purity levels of liquid argon suitable for neutrino detection

Abstract

A 10 kilo-tonne dual-phase liquid argon TPC is one of the detector options considered for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). The detector technology relies on amplification of the ionisation charge in ultra-pure argon vapour and oers several advantages compared to the traditional single-phase liquid argon TPCs. A 4.2 tonne dual-phase liquid argon TPC prototype, the largest of its kind, with an active volume of 3x1x1 $m^3$ has been constructed and operated at CERN. In this paper we describe in detail the experimental setup and detector components as well as report on the operation experience. We also present the first results on the achieved charge amplification, prompt scintillation and electroluminescence detection, and purity of the liquid argon from analyses of a collected sample of cosmic ray muons.