A 260-Liter Test Stand for Liquid Argon R&D

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Li, Yichen, Bolotnikov, Aleksey, Diwan, Milind, Jo, Jay Hyun, Kettell, Steven, Linden, Steven, Qian, Xin, Vicenzi, Matteo, Zhang, Chao
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Li, Yichen
Bolotnikov, Aleksey
Diwan, Milind
Jo, Jay Hyun
Kettell, Steven
Linden, Steven
Qian, Xin
Vicenzi, Matteo
Zhang, Chao
author_facet Li, Yichen
Bolotnikov, Aleksey
Diwan, Milind
Jo, Jay Hyun
Kettell, Steven
Linden, Steven
Qian, Xin
Vicenzi, Matteo
Zhang, Chao
contents We describe the design and performance of a 260-liter liquid argon (LAr) cryogenic test stand for liquid argon detector research and development at BNL. The system uses gas-phase argon purification with continuous pump-free circulation, in which boil-off argon gas is purified, recondensed, and returned to the cryostat by gravity without a mechanical recirculation pump; it also incorporates an upgraded condenser that increases the effective thermal contact area by a factor of 13 relative to the previously developed 20-liter system reported perviously. A liquid argon purity monitor is installed to measure the electron lifetime directly in LAr, enabling quantitative characterization of charge attenuation due to electronegative impurities. Under the operating conditions reported here, the demonstrated electron lifetime is 0.5 ms. The system is designed to enable rapid iteration of detector components in complete operational cycles, including pump-down, leak verification, cryogenic fill, stable operation, and warm-up, which can be completed within 7 days. Such a fast turnaround time, together with the medium-scale liquid volume and direct purity diagnostics, makes the facility well suited for testing and refining detector designs in support of large liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) experiments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_20703
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A 260-Liter Test Stand for Liquid Argon R&D
Li, Yichen
Bolotnikov, Aleksey
Diwan, Milind
Jo, Jay Hyun
Kettell, Steven
Linden, Steven
Qian, Xin
Vicenzi, Matteo
Zhang, Chao
Instrumentation and Detectors
We describe the design and performance of a 260-liter liquid argon (LAr) cryogenic test stand for liquid argon detector research and development at BNL. The system uses gas-phase argon purification with continuous pump-free circulation, in which boil-off argon gas is purified, recondensed, and returned to the cryostat by gravity without a mechanical recirculation pump; it also incorporates an upgraded condenser that increases the effective thermal contact area by a factor of 13 relative to the previously developed 20-liter system reported perviously. A liquid argon purity monitor is installed to measure the electron lifetime directly in LAr, enabling quantitative characterization of charge attenuation due to electronegative impurities. Under the operating conditions reported here, the demonstrated electron lifetime is 0.5 ms. The system is designed to enable rapid iteration of detector components in complete operational cycles, including pump-down, leak verification, cryogenic fill, stable operation, and warm-up, which can be completed within 7 days. Such a fast turnaround time, together with the medium-scale liquid volume and direct purity diagnostics, makes the facility well suited for testing and refining detector designs in support of large liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) experiments.
title A 260-Liter Test Stand for Liquid Argon R&D
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.20703