a new concept for kilotonne scale liquid argon time projection chambers

• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1908.10956
• Publication Date: 2020-02-07
• Authors: Jonathan Asaadi; Martin Auger; Roman Berner; Alan Bross; Yifan Chen; Mark Convery; Laura Domine; Francois Drielsma; Daniel Dwyer; Antonio Ereditato; Damian Goeldi; Ran Itay; Dae Koh; Samuel Kohn; Patrick Koller; Igor Kreslo; David Lorca; Peter Madigan; Christopher Marshall; Thomas Mettler; Francesco Piastra; James Sinclair; Hirohisa Tanaka; Kazuhiro Terao; Patrick Tsang; Tracy Usher; Michele Weber; Callum Wilkinson
• Keywords: Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors; LArTPC; pixels; SiPM; charge readout; Physics; QC1-999; track reconstruction; FOS: Physical sciences; QC770-798; Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det); particle identification methods; 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; high voltage; Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity; 0103 physical sciences; field shaping; TPC; sipm; tpc; lartpc; neutrino detectors

We develop a novel Time Projection Chamber (TPC) concept suitable for deployment in kilotonne-scale detectors, with a charge-readout system free from reconstruction ambiguities, and a robust TPC design that reduces high-voltage risks while increasing the coverage of the light-collection system and maximizing the active volume. This novel concept could be used as a far detector module in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). For the charge-readout system, we used the charge-collection pixels and associated application-specific integrated circuits currently being developed for the liquid argon (LAr) component of the DUNE Near Detector design, ArgonCube. In addition, we divided the TPC into a number of shorter drift volumes, reducing the total voltage used to drift the ionization electrons, and minimizing the stored energy per TPC. Segmenting the TPC also contains scintillation light, allowing for precise trigger localization and a more expansive light-readout system. Furthermore, the design opens the possibility of replacing or upgrading components. These augmentations could substantially improve the reliability and the sensitivity, particularly for low-energy signals, in comparison to traditional monolithic LArTPCs with projective-wire charge readouts.