Feb 21 – 25, 2022
Vienna University of Technology
Europe/Vienna timezone

The upgraded low-background germanium counting facility Gator for high-sensitivity $\gamma$-ray spectrometry

Not scheduled
20m
Vienna University of Technology

Vienna University of Technology

Gusshausstraße 27-29, 1040 Wien
Recorded Presentation Dark matter and other low-background experiments

Speaker

Mr Alexander Bismark (Universtiy of Zurich)

Description

The Astroparticle Physics Group at the University of Zurich operates a high-purity germanium (HPGe) spectrometer (Gator) in a low-background environment underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. The 2.2 kg $\gamma$-ray spectrometer is one of the world’s most sensitive HPGe detectors with an integrated count rate of $(86.2 \pm 0.7)$ events/(day$\cdot$kg) in the energy region 100 - 2700 keV. It is used to screen and select materials for rare-event search experiments such as XENON, DARWIN, GERDA and LEGEND. We describe the general facility, the recent upgrades and their impact on the background level. We also demonstrate its sensitivity by presenting the results for several material samples.

Primary author

Mr Alexander Bismark (Universtiy of Zurich)

Co-authors

Ms Gabriela Rodrigues Araujo (University of Zurich) Prof. Laura Baudis (University of Zurich) Ms Yanina Biondi (Universtiy of Zurich) Dr Michelle Galloway (University of Zurich)

Presentation materials