Measurement of isotopic separation of argon with the prototype of the cryogenic distillation plant Aria for dark matter searches

Fuente: arXiv
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Autor principal: 20k Collaboration
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2023
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author 20k Collaboration
author_facet 20k Collaboration
contents The Aria cryogenic distillation plant, located in Sardinia, Italy, is a key component of the DarkSide-20k experimental program for WIMP dark matter searches at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. Aria is designed to purify the argon, extracted from underground wells in Colorado, USA, and used as the DarkSide-20k target material, to detector-grade quality. In this paper, we report the first measurement of argon isotopic separation by distillation with the 26 m tall Aria prototype. We discuss the measurement of the operating parameters of the column and the observation of the simultaneous separation of the three stable argon isotopes: Ar$^{36}$, Ar$^{38}$, and Ar$^{40}$. We also provide a detailed comparison of the experimental results with commercial process simulation software. This measurement of isotopic separation of argon is a significant achievement for the project, building on the success of the initial demonstration of isotopic separation of nitrogen using the same equipment in 2019.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2301_09639
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Measurement of isotopic separation of argon with the prototype of the cryogenic distillation plant Aria for dark matter searches
20k Collaboration
Instrumentation and Detectors
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
The Aria cryogenic distillation plant, located in Sardinia, Italy, is a key component of the DarkSide-20k experimental program for WIMP dark matter searches at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. Aria is designed to purify the argon, extracted from underground wells in Colorado, USA, and used as the DarkSide-20k target material, to detector-grade quality. In this paper, we report the first measurement of argon isotopic separation by distillation with the 26 m tall Aria prototype. We discuss the measurement of the operating parameters of the column and the observation of the simultaneous separation of the three stable argon isotopes: Ar$^{36}$, Ar$^{38}$, and Ar$^{40}$. We also provide a detailed comparison of the experimental results with commercial process simulation software. This measurement of isotopic separation of argon is a significant achievement for the project, building on the success of the initial demonstration of isotopic separation of nitrogen using the same equipment in 2019.
title Measurement of isotopic separation of argon with the prototype of the cryogenic distillation plant Aria for dark matter searches
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.09639