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- Abdelhameed, A. H., et al.
(author)
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Cryogenic characterization of a LiAlO2 crystal and new results on spin-dependent dark matter interactions with ordinary matter: CRESST Collaboration
- 2020
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In: European Physical Journal C. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 80:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, a first cryogenic characterization of a scintillating LiAlO2 single crystal is presented. The results achieved show that this material holds great potential as a target for direct dark matter search experiments. Three different detector modules obtained from one crystal grown at the Leibniz-Institut fur Kristallzuchtung (IKZ) have been tested to study different properties at cryogenic temperatures. Firstly, two 2.8 g twin crystals were used to build different detector modules which were operated in an above-ground laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) in Munich, Germany. The first detector module was used to study the scintillation properties of LiAlO2 at cryogenic temperatures. The second achieved an energy threshold of (213.02 +/- 1.48) eV which allows setting a competitive limit on the spin-dependent dark matter particle-proton scattering cross section for dark matter particle masses between 350 MeV/c2 and 1.50 GeV/c2. Secondly, a detector module with a 373 g LiAlO2 crystal as the main absorber was tested in an underground facility at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS): from this measurement it was possible to determine the radiopurity of the crystal and study the feasibility of using this material as a neutron flux monitor for low-background experiments.
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2. |
- Bertoldo, E., et al.
(author)
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Lithium-Containing Crystals for Light Dark Matter Search Experiments
- 2020
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In: Journal of Low Temperature Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0022-2291 .- 1573-7357. ; 199:1-2, s. 510-518
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the current direct dark matter search landscape, the leading experiments in the sub-GeV mass region mostly rely on cryogenic techniques which employ crystalline targets. One attractive type of crystals for these experiments is those containing lithium, due to the fact that 7Li is an ideal candidate to study spin-dependent dark matter interactions in the low mass region. Furthermore, 6Li can absorb neutrons, a challenging background for dark matter experiments, through a distinctive signature which allows the monitoring of the neutron flux directly on site. In this work, we show the results obtained with three different detectors based on LiAlO 2, a target crystal never used before in cryogenic experiments.
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3. |
- Kluck, H., et al.
(author)
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Latest results of CRESST-III's search for sub-GeV/c(2) dark matter
- 2020
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In: Journal of Physics: Conference Series. - : IOP Publishing. - 1742-6596 .- 1742-6588. ; 1468:1
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The CRESST-III experiment searches for direct interactions of dark matter with ordinary matter. The main event signature would be a nuclear recoil inside one of the scintillating CaWO4 crystals. Operating the crystals as cryogenic calorimeters provides a phonon signal as measure of the deposited energy. The simultaneous readout of both signals is used to actively discriminate backgrounds. CRESST-III focuses on the sub-GeV/c(2) mass region where the sensitivity is driven by the threshold. In the first data taking campaign of CRESST-III from 2016-2018 an unprecedented low threshold of 30.1 eV for nuclear recoils was obtained. In this contribution, we will report the status of the experiment and the latest results. [GRAPHICS]
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4. |
- Mancuso, M., et al.
(author)
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Searches for Light Dark Matter with the CRESST-III Experiment
- 2020
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In: Journal of Low Temperature Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0022-2291 .- 1573-7357. ; 199:1-2, s. 547-555
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers (CRESST) is a long-standing direct dark matter detection experiment with cryogenic detectors located at the underground facility Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. CRESST-III, the third generation of CRESST, was specifically designed to have a world-leading sensitivity for low-mass dark matter (DM) (less than 2 GeV/c 2) to probe the spin-independent DM-nucleus cross section. At present, a large part of the parameter space for spin-independent scattering off nuclei remains untested for dark matter particles with masses below few GeV/c 2 although many motivated theoretical models having been proposed. The CRESST-III experiment employs scintillating CaWO 4 crystals of ∼ 25 g as target material for dark matter interactions operated as cryogenic scintillating calorimeters at ∼ 10 mK. CRESST-III first data taking was successfully completed in 2018, achieving an unprecedented energy threshold for nuclear recoils. This result extended the present sensitivity to DM particles as light as ∼ 160 MeV/c 2. In this paper, an overview of the CRESST-III detectors and results will be presented.
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5. |
- Luis Mas, Jose, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of a major Aeolian dust input event and its impact on element fluxes and inventories at the DYFAMED site (Northwestern Mediterranean)
- 2020
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In: Marine Chemistry. - : ELSEVIER. - 0304-4203 .- 1872-7581. ; 223
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Continental dust can be suspended and transported by the wind, reaching seawater masses far away from its source. The deposition of the aerosols on the ocean surface can alter the abundance of chemical species in the water column and contribute to element inventories in seafloor sediments. A major Saharan dust intrusion into the Western Mediterranean Sea was recorded at the DYFAMED site (Ligurian Sea) in 20th February 2004. We determined the influence of this dust event on the concentration of 30 minor and trace level elements (TE) in sinking particles collected by sediment traps deployed at 200 m and 1000 m depth, and how a dust flux event like this contributed to the exchange of TE, including Fe, with the water column during major dust events. With coupled sediment traps and aerosol samples, we assessed the short-term implications of dust events in the water column. The event produced a flux of fast (>111 m d(-1)) and slow ( < 20 m d(-1)) sinking dust particles, detected during 3 weeks at 200 m and 4 weeks at 1000 m depth. Additionally, the obtained results of element concentrations and particles flux show that a single dust deposition event can produce a sinking flux equivalent to annual deposition rates of elements relevant to biogeochemical cycles and/or pollution studies: (>60% for Cr and Cu, >70% for Al, > 80% for Ni and Zn, > 90% for V and Mn, > 100% for Fe and Pb). The corresponding Enrichment Factors (EF) for the minor and TE analyzed in the sediment traps during the dust event were calculated. EF was used to determine how minor and trace element concentrations in sinking particles vary. The values ranged between 0.35 and 421 in both 200 m and 1000 m sediment traps. For most of the analyzed elements, the obtained EF values were higher than 1. On the contrary, V, Y, Zr, Nb, and Ce showed EF similar to 1 while Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sn, and Pb showed EF < 1. Despite the variability in the EF values, vertical fluxes integrated during the dust deposition event increased from 200 m to 1000 m, except for I, which decreased. This contrasts strongly with the element fluxes integrated for the complete sampling period, which decrease or increase from 200 m to 1000 m, depending on the element. This suggests that sinking dust particles were acting generally as sinks of the TE. We conclude that, apart from I, a substantial portion of the elements from atmospheric dust input from a single deposition event can reach the mesopelagic layer of the Western Mediterranean basin without increasing the budget of those elements in the water column.
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