Publication Date:
2020-09-01
Description:
In this work, a first cryogenic characterization of a scintillating $$hbox {LiAlO}_{2}$$ LiAlO 2 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 für Kristallzüchtung (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 $$hbox {LiAlO}_{2}$$ LiAlO 2 at cryogenic temperatures. The second achieved an energy threshold of ($$213.02pm 1.48$$ 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 $$350,hbox {MeV/c}^{2}$$ 350 MeV/c 2 and $$1.50,hbox {GeV/c}^{2}$$ 1.50 GeV/c 2 . Secondly, a detector module with a 373 g $$hbox {LiAlO}_{2}$$ LiAlO 2 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.
Print ISSN:
1434-6044
Electronic ISSN:
1434-6052
Topics:
Physics
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