Speaker
Description
High fidelity measurements of low energy particle tracks are vital for physics applications where reconstructing directionality and event topology is required, such as in searches for dark matter, the Migdal effect, and new physics in CEvNS experiments. Low pressure negative ion drift (NID) time projection chambers (TPC) utilizing micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGDs) provide a unique and promising technology for such applications. The low diffusion and drift speeds in NID, combined with the high granularity and gas gains of MPGDs could lead to unprecedented 3D track reconstruction of low energy tracks.
Our group at UNM is currently constructing a small MPGD-based low pressure NID TPC to be used in a Migdal search. Measurements made with it will also inform the design for other rare searches that require larger volumes. This talk will discuss a variety of drift studies done in gases of interest for this search: He, Ar and CF$_4$, doped with either CS$_2$ or SF$_6$ as the NI component. We will also give a brief update on the status of the hardware development for this future detector.
