R2D2 TPC: first Xenon results
Résumé
Radial time projection chambers (TPC), already employed inthe search for rare phenomena such as light Dark Matter candidate,could provide a new detection approach for the search ofneutrinoless double beta decay (ββ0ν). The assessment ofthe performances of such a detector for ββ0ν search isindeed the goal of the Rare Decays with Radial Detector (R2D2)R&D. Promising results operating a spherical TPC with argon up to1 bar have been published in 2021. Supplementary measurements wererecently taken extending the gas pressure range up to 3 bar. Inaddition, a comparison between two detector geometries, namelyspherical (SPC for spherical proportional counter) and cylindrical(CPC for cylindrical proportional counter), was performed. Using arelatively simple gas purification system the CPC detector was alsooperated with xenon at 1 bar: an energy resolution of 1.4%full-width at half-maximum was achieved for drift distances up to17 cm. Much lower resolution was observed with the SPC. Theseresults are presented in this article.