First data from DM-Ice17

We report the first analysis of background data from DM-Ice17, a direct-detection dark matter experiment consisting of 17 kg of NaI(Tl) target material. It was codeployed with IceCube 2457 m deep in the South Pole glacial ice in December 2010 and is the first such detector operating in the Southern...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical Review D
Main Authors: Cherwinka, J., Grant, D., Halzen, F., Heeger, K. M., Hsu, L., Hubbard, A. J. F., Karle, A., Kauer, M., Kudryavtsev, V. A., Macdonald, C., Maruyama, R. H., Paling, S., Pettus, W., Pierpoint, Z. P., Reilly, B. N., Robinson, M., Sandstrom, P., Spooner, N. J. C., Telfer, S., Yang, L., Collaboration, DMI
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2014
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Online Access:https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/106992/
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/106992/6/1401.4804v3.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.90.092005
Description
Summary:We report the first analysis of background data from DM-Ice17, a direct-detection dark matter experiment consisting of 17 kg of NaI(Tl) target material. It was codeployed with IceCube 2457 m deep in the South Pole glacial ice in December 2010 and is the first such detector operating in the Southern Hemisphere. The background rate in the 6.5–8.0 keVee region is measured to be 7.9 � 0.4 counts=day=keV=kg. This is consistent with the expected background from the detector assemblies with negligible contributions from the surrounding ice. The successful deployment and operation of DM-Ice17 establishes the South Pole ice as a viable location for future underground, low-background experiments in the Southern Hemisphere. The detector assembly and deployment are described here, as well as the analysis of the DM-Ice17 backgrounds based on data from the first two years of operation after commissioning, July 2011–June 2013.