An improved measurement of electron-ion recombination in high-pressure xenon gas

Serra Díaz-Cano, Luis
Sorel, Michel
Álvarez Puerta, Vicente
Borges, Filipa I.G.M.
Camargo, Manuel A.
Cárcel García, Sara
Cebrián, Susana
Cervera Villanueva, Anselmo
Conde, Carlos A.N.
Dafni, Theopisti
Díaz Medina, José
Esteve, Raúl
Fernandes, L.M.P.
Ferrario, Paola
Ferreira, Antonio Luis
Freitas, Elisabete D.C.
Gehman, Victor M.
Goldschmidt, Azriel
Gómez Cadenas, Juan José
González-Díaz, Diego
Gutiérrez, Rafael María
Hauptman, John M.
Hernando Morata, J.A.
Herrera, D.C.
Irastorza, Igor Garcia
Labarga, Luis A.
Laing, Andrew
Liubarsky, Igor
López-March, N.
Lorca Galindo, David
Losada, Marta
Luzón, Gloria
Marí, A.
Martín-Albo Simón, Justo
Martínez Lema, Gonzalo
Martínez Pérez, Alberto
Miller, Tom P.
Monrabal Capilla, Francesc
Monserrate, M.
Monteiro, Cristina M.B.
Mora, Francisco José
Moutinho, L.M.
Muñoz Vidal, J.
Nebot Guinot, Miquel
Nygren, David R.
Oliveira, Carlos A.B.
Pérez, Javier Martin
Pérez Aparicio, J.L.
Querol, M.
Renner, Joshua
Rodríguez, Ángel Y.
Santos, Filomena P.
dos Santos, Joaquim M.F.
Shuman, Derek B.
Simón Estévez, Ander
Sofka, C.
Toledo, J.F.
Torrent Collell, Jordi
Tsamalaidze, Zviadi
Veloso, João F.C.A.
Villar, José Ángel
Webb, R.C.
White, James T.
Yahlali Haddou, Nadia
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We report on results obtained with the NEXT-DEMO prototype of the NEXT-100 high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber (TPC), filled with pure xenon gas at 10 bar pressure and exposed to an alpha decay calibration source. Compared to our previous measurements with alpha particles, an upgraded detector and improved analysis techniques have been used. We measure event-by-event correlated fluctuations between ionization and scintillation due to electron-ion recombination in the gas, with correlation coefficients between −0.80 and −0.56 depending on the drift field conditions. By combining the two signals, we obtain a 2.8% FWHM energy resolution for 5.49 MeV alpha particles and a measurement of the optical gain of the electroluminescent TPC. The improved energy resolution also allows us to measure the specific activity of the radon in the gas due to natural impurities. Finally, we measure the average ratio of excited to ionized atoms produced in the xenon gas by alpha particles to be 0.561± 0.045, translating into an average energy to produce a primary scintillation photon of Wex=(39.2± 3.2) eV ​
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