Scintillation light detection in the 6-m drift-length ProtoDUNE Dual Phase liquid argon TPC

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the performance of scintillation light detection in the ProtoDUNE Dual Phase liquid argon TPC, focusing on wavelength shifters and xenon doping, to enhance future large-scale neutrino detectors.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of scintillation light detection, comparing different wavelength shifters and xenon doping effects, advancing understanding of liquid argon properties for neutrino detection.

Findings

Photon detection efficiency varies with wavelength shifters used.

Xenon doping influences scintillation light yield and propagation.

Simulation results align closely with experimental data.

Abstract

DUNE is a dual-site experiment for long-baseline neutrino oscillation studies, neutrino astrophysics and nucleon decay searches. ProtoDUNE Dual Phase (DP) is a 6x6x6m3 liquid argon time-projection-chamber (LArTPC) that recorded cosmic-muon data at the CERN Neutrino Platform in 2019-2020 as a prototype of the DUNE Far Detector. Charged particles propagating through the LArTPC produce ionization and scintillation light. The scintillation light signal in these detectors can provide the trigger for non-beam events. In addition, it adds precise timing capabilities and improves the calorimetry measurements. In ProtoDUNE-DP, scintillation and electroluminescence light produced by cosmic muons in the LArTPC is collected by photomultiplier tubes placed up to 7 m away from the ionizing track. In this paper, the ProtoDUNE-DP photon detection system performance is evaluated with a particular focus on the different wavelength shifters, such as PEN and TPB, and the use of Xe-doped LAr, considering its future use in giant LArTPCs. The scintillation light production and propagation processes are analyzed and a comparison of simulation to data is performed, improving understanding of the liquid argon properties