Electron transport measurements in liquid xenon with Xenoscope, a large-scale DARWIN demonstrator

Abstract

The DARWIN observatory is a proposed next-generation experiment with 40 tonnes of liquid xenon as an active target in a time projection chamber. To study challenges related to the construction and operation of a multi-tonne scale detector, we have designed and constructed a vertical, full-scale demonstrator for the DARWIN experiment at the University of Zurich. Here, we present the first results from a several-months run with $343\text{kg}$ of xenon and electron drift lifetime and transport measurements with a $53\text{cm}$ tall purity monitor immersed in the cryogenic liquid. After $88\text{days}$ of continuous purification, the electron lifetime reached a value of $(664\pm 23)\mathrm{\mu }\text{s}$. We measured the drift velocity of electrons for electric fields in the range (25–75) V/cm, and found values consistent with previous measurements. We also calculated the longitudinal diffusion constant of the electron cloud in the same field range, and compared with previous data, as well as with predictions from an empirical model.