Great progress in ProtoDUNE Dual Phase tests
"ProtoDUNE Dual Phase tests, in which the LIP team was very much involved, have been remarkably successfully and highlighted in several news articles"
ProtoDUNE is the largest liquid-argon neutrino detector ever built, and is opening the way for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), the largest next generation international neutrino experiment. DUNE’s scientific mission is to unlock the mysteries of neutrinos, helping to answer some of the most pressing questions in physics. In September last year, the collaboration announced a big success: the recording of the first first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the history of DUNE. This Summer, tests went on with a new detector prototype, using a new and promising technology: dual phase, so called because it uses argon both in liquid and gas forms.
The LIP DUNE group, in particular our colleague Fernando Barão, was directly involved in the tests: participation in the detector installation, development of a slow control data reading system, operation, and analysis of the data taken to monitor argon purity. Argon purity, particularly in what concerns oxygen contamination, is a crucial aspect in such detectors, where electrons must achieve drift distances of 6 meters. Argon is thus continuously filtered and monitored, achieving a remarkable purity.
The success of the ProtoDUNE tests has been highlighted by a news article published jointly by CERN and Fermilab, and also in the Symmetry online magazine.