The ALETHEIA project aims to search for low-mass dark matter using liquid helium (LHe)-filled time projection chambers (TPCs). While liquid argon and liquid xenon TPCs have been extensively employed in the field of direct dark matter detection, successful development of LHe TPCs has not yet been achieved. Launched in 2020, our project has made significant progress since then. These advancements have convinced us that a single-phase LHe TPC is technologically feasible. Compared to liquid xenon and liquid argon TPCs, one of the unique challenges for LHe TPCs is event overlap caused by the 13-second lifetime scintillation. We will demonstrate that this overlap can be entirely mitigated when the LHe temperature is maintained near 1.0 K. At this temperature, electron mobility is three orders of magnitude higher than at approximately 4.0 K, which is the temperature we initially proposed for the LHe TPC.

Progress on the ALETHEIA project and a new approach to mitigate events overlap / J. Liao, F.A.. - In: POS PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENCE. - ISSN 1824-8039. - 511:(2026 Sep 03), pp. 040.1-040.7. (19. The XIX International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP2025) : August, 24th - 30th Xichang (Repubblica Popolare Cinese) 2025) [10.22323/1.511.0040].

Progress on the ALETHEIA project and a new approach to mitigate events overlap

F. Armani;D. D'Angelo;V. Toso;
2026

Abstract

The ALETHEIA project aims to search for low-mass dark matter using liquid helium (LHe)-filled time projection chambers (TPCs). While liquid argon and liquid xenon TPCs have been extensively employed in the field of direct dark matter detection, successful development of LHe TPCs has not yet been achieved. Launched in 2020, our project has made significant progress since then. These advancements have convinced us that a single-phase LHe TPC is technologically feasible. Compared to liquid xenon and liquid argon TPCs, one of the unique challenges for LHe TPCs is event overlap caused by the 13-second lifetime scintillation. We will demonstrate that this overlap can be entirely mitigated when the LHe temperature is maintained near 1.0 K. At this temperature, electron mobility is three orders of magnitude higher than at approximately 4.0 K, which is the temperature we initially proposed for the LHe TPC.
Settore PHYS-01/A - Fisica sperimentale delle interazioni fondamentali e applicazioni
3-set-2026
https://pos.sissa.it/511/040/
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1273879
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