The XeBRA platform for liquid xenon time projection chamber development

TL;DR

XeBRA is a versatile cryogenic platform for developing liquid xenon detectors, enabling various designs and providing valuable data on electron drift velocity and charge/light yields relevant for rare event searches.

Contribution

The paper introduces XeBRA, a flexible and large-scale cryogenic system for liquid xenon detector R&D, including its subsystems and initial experimental results.

Findings

Measured electron drift velocity dependence on electric field.

Determined charge and light yields at 41.5 keV from Kr-83m.

Demonstrated operation of dual phase TPCs in XeBRA.

Abstract

XeBRA is a flexible cryogenic platform designed to perform research and development for liquid xenon detectors searching for rare events. Its extra-large outer cryostat makes it possible to install a wide variety of detector designs. We present the system, including its cryogenic, gas handling, data acquisition and slow control subsystems. Two dual phase time projection chambers with sensitive masses at the 1 kg scale have so far been operated in XeBRA. Using data from these, we determine the field-dependence of the electron drift velocity in liquid xenon. We also measure the relative charge and light yields for 41.5 keV energy deposits from Kr-83m with electric drift fields between 50 V/cm and 677 V/cm.