Seminars

"Integration of a Tonne-Scale Prototype for the DarkSide-20k Inner Detector"

Clea Sunny (AstroCent/CAMK PAN, Warsaw)

The Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration is currently developing its flagship detector, DarkSide-20k (DS-20k), a multi-tonne-scale experiment designed for the direct detection of the weakly interacting massive particles using a double-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC) with 20.2 tonnes of fiducial mass. The shift from its predecessor, DarkSide-50, with 46.4 kg of active mass, to a significantly larger detector relies on intermediate prototypes for technical design validation. The DS-20k TPC Mockup is one such prototype detector intended to replicate the critical aspects of the functionality of DS-20k in a tonne-scale setup. The Mockup detector was assembled in a clean room of the Nuova Officina Assergi (NOA) facility at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) above ground in early 2025, and was later transported to Hall C of the LNGS underground laboratory to be put inside a cryostat. The main tests focused on the long-term exposure of the Clevios coatings, an innovative conductive polymer, to LAr, analyzing gas-pocket formation, and conducting tests of the high voltage delivery. The detector is now decommissioned and transported back to the NOA facility for visual inspection for any possible damage or degradation. This talk presents the assembly, operation, ongoing analysis, findings, and future prospects of the Mockup project.

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