Space charge in liquid argon time-projection chambers: a review of analytical and numerical models, and mitigation methods

TL;DR

This paper reviews the impact of space charge in liquid argon time-projection chambers, discussing analytical and numerical models, effects on signal reconstruction, and mitigation strategies.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of models and mitigation methods for space charge effects in liquid argon TPCs, including new analytical and numerical approaches.

Findings

Analytical and numerical models of space charge effects.

Impact of limited electron lifetime and ion feedback.

Design solutions for mitigating space charge effects.

Abstract

The subject of space charge in ionisation detectors is reviewed, with particular attention to the case of liquid argon time projection chambers. Analytical and numerical description of the effects on the reconstructed coordinates along the drift and the transverse directions are presented. The cases of limited electron lifetime, of dual-phase detectors with ion feedback, and of detectors with small and comparable ratio between drift length and width are considered. Two design solutions that mitigates the effects are discussed.