56836 20250722154010.0 doi 10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4372-6 sideral 96405 ART-2016-96405 eng Iguaz, F.J. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-6327-9369 TREX-DM: a low-background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection 2016 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted If Dark Matter is made of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) with masses below~20 GeV, the corresponding nuclear recoils in mainstream WIMP experiments are of energies too close, or below, the experimental threshold. Gas Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) can be operated with a variety of target elements, offer good tracking capabilities and, on account of the amplification in gas, very lowthresholds are achievable. Recent advances in electronics and in novel radiopure TPC readouts, especially micro-mesh gas structure (Micromegas), are improving the scalability and low-background prospects of gaseous TPCs. Here we present TREX-DM, a prototype to test the concept of a Micromegasbased TPC to search for low-mass WIMPs. The detector is designed to host an active mass of ~0.300 kg of Ar at 10 bar, or alternatively ~0.160 kg of Ne at 10 bar, with an energy threshold below 0.4 keVee, and is fully built with radiopure materials. We will describe the detector in detail, the results from the commissioning phase on surface, as well as a preliminary background model. The anticipated sensitivity of this technique may go beyond current experimental limits for WIMPs of masses of 2–8 GeV. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/240054/EU/Novel Developments in Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) for Rare Event Searches in Underground Astroparticle EXperiments/TREX info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO-FEDER/FPA2011-24058 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/FPA2013-41085-P info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ/JIUZ-2014-CIE-02 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ 5.331 2016 PHYSICS, PARTICLES & FIELDS 4 / 28 = 0.143 2016 Q1 T1 1.653 2016 Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous) 2016 Q1 Engineering (miscellaneous) 2016 Q1 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Garza, J.G. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-0800-1588 Aznar, F. (orcid)0000-0003-3629-0540 Castel, J.F. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-3532-7540 Cebrián, S. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-6948-5101 Dafni, T. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-8921-910X García, J.A. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-7399-7353 Irastorza, I.G. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-1163-1687 Lagraba, A. Luzón, G. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-5352-1884 Peiró, A. 2004 X Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Física Teórica Proy. investigación HCA 2004 390 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Física Teórica Área Física Atóm.Molec.y Nucl. 76, 529 (2016), [28 pp.] Eur. phys. j., C The European Physical Journal C 1434-6044 3556711 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/56836/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 11276 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/56836/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:56836 articulos driver 2025-07-22-15:35:39 ARTICLE