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Abstract:

The CRESST experiment aims for a detection of dark matter in the form of WIMPs. These particles are expected to scatter elastically off the nuclei of a target material, thereby depositing energy on the recoiling nucleus. CRESST uses scintillating CaW04 crystals as such a target. The energy deposited by an interacting particle is primarily converted to phonons which are detected by transition edge sensors. In addition, a small fraction of the interaction energy is emitted from the crystals in the form of scintillation light which is measured in coincidence with the phonon signal by a separate cryogenic light detector for each target crystal. The ratio of light to phonon energy permits the discrimination between the nuclear recoils expected from WIMPs and events from radioactive backgrounds which primarily lead to electron recoils. CRESST has shown the success of this method in a commissioning run in 2007 and, since then, further investigated possibilities for an even better suppression of backgrounds. Here, we report on a new class of background events observed in the course of this work. The consequences of this observation are discussed and we present the current status of the experiment. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Abstract:

The behaviour of the crystal structure of ZnWO4 was investigated by means of synchrotron and neutron powder diffraction in the range of 3-300K. Thermal analysis showed the sample's melting around 1486K upon heating and subsequent solidification at 1442K upon cooling. Therefore, the structure was also investigated at 1423K by means of neutron diffraction. It is found that the compound adopts the wolframite structure type over the whole temperature range investigated. The lattice parameters and volume of ZnWO4 at low temperatures were parametrized on the basis of the first order Grüneisen approximation and a Debye model for an internal energy. The expansivities along the a-and b-axes adopt similar values and saturate close to 8 × 10 -6K-1, whereas the expansion along the c-axis is much smaller and shows no saturation up to 300K. The minimum expansivity corresponds to the direction close to the c-axis where edge-sharing linkages of octahedra occur. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Abstract:

Magnesium tungstate (MgWO4) crystals of ~1 cm³ volume were obtained for the first time using a flux growth technique. The crystal was subjected to comprehensive characterisation that included room-temperature measurements of the transmittance, X-ray luminescence spectra, afterglow under X-ray excitation, relative photoelectron output, energy resolution, non-proportionality of scintillation response to γ-quanta, response to α-particles, and pulse shape for γ-quanta and α-particles. The light output and decay kinetics of MgWO4 were studied over the temperature range 7-305 K. Under X-ray excitation the crystal exhibits an intense luminescence band peaking at a wavelength of 470 nm; the intensity of afterglow after 20 ms is 0.035%. An energy resolution of 9.1% for 662 keV γ-quanta of ¹³⁷Cs was measured with a small (≈0.9 g) sample of the MgWO4 crystal. The photoelectron output of the MgWO4 crystal scintillator is 35% that of CdWO4 and 27% that of NaI(Tl). The detector showed pulse-shape discrimination ability in measurements with α-particles and γ-quanta, which enabled us to assess the radioactive contamination of the scintillator. The results of these studies demonstrate the prospect of this material for a variety of scintillation applications, including rare event searches. © 2008 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract:

The luminescence properties of Ba3Tb0.9Eu0.1(PO4)3 and Ba3Gd0.9Eu0.1(PO4)3 phosphors were studied for excitation over the 120-300 nm wavelength range. It is found that Tb³⁺, which exhibits a strong vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) absorption band, provides sensitisation of Eu³⁺ emission in this host. This effect can be used to develop phosphors with enhanced conversion efficiency of the VUV radiation into visible light. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

The CRESST-II direct Dark Matter search is located in the Gran Sasso underground laboratories, Italy. CaWO4 crystals are used as scintillating targets for WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) interactions. They are operated as cryogenic calorimeters in combination with a second cryogenic detector used to measure the scintillation light produced in the target crystal. For each particle interaction, the combination of phonon and light signals provides an event by event discrimination which allows to distinguish known particles (alphas, betas, gammas, neutrons) from the expected signal of WIMPs. A major upgrade of the setup comprises modifications of the shielding, installation of a muon-veto, and new read out electronics, as well as a new detector-support structure to accommodate up to 33 detector modules, i.e. 10 kg of target mass. The experiment was thereafter successfully commissioned in 2007. Data obtained during this commissioning phase from 2 detector modules are presented here. Combining the data collected with these two detector modules with data from one single module obtained during the CRESST-I phase, the experiment could already place a limit of ∼6 × 10^-7 pb for the spin independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross section at a WIMP mass of ∼60 GeV/c². © BAS, BDP Sciences 2009.