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DOE OSTI2026

Cryogenics and purification systems of the ICARUS T600 detector installation at Fermilab

This paper describes the cryogenic and purification systems of the ICARUS T600 detector in its present implementation at the Fermi National Laboratory, Illinois, U.S.A. The ICARUS T600 detector is made of four large Time Projection Chambers, installed in two separate containers of about 275 m 3 each. The detector uses liquid argon both as target and as active medium. For the correct operation of the detector, the liquid argon must be kept in very stable thermal conditions and the contamination of electronegative impurities must be consistently kept at the level of small fractions of parts per billion. The detector was previously operated in Italy, at the INFN Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory (LNGS), in a three-year run on the CERN to LNGS Long Baseline Neutrino Beam. For its operation on the Booster and NuMI neutrino beams at Fermilab, for the search of sterile neutrinos and measurements of neutrino-argon cross sections, the detector was moved from Gran Sasso to CERN for the upgrades required for operation at shallow depth with high intensity neutrino beams. The liquid argon containers, the thermal insulation and all the cryogenic equipment have been completely re-designed and rebuilt, following the schemes of the previous installation in Gran Sasso. The detector and all the equipment have been transported to Fermilab, where they have been installed, tested and recently put into operation. The work described in this paper has been conducted as a joint responsibility of CERN and Fermilab with the supervision provided by the ICARUS Collaboration. Design, installation, testing, commissioning and operation are the result of a common effort of CERN, Fermilab and INFN groups.

Cryogenic detectors↗

DOE OSTI2025

Operation of the trigger system for the ICARUS detector at Fermilab

The ICARUS liquid argon TPC detector is taking data on the Booster (BNB) and Main Injector (NuMI) Neutrino beam lines at Fermilab with a trigger system based on the scintillation light produced by charged particles in coincidence with the proton beam extraction from the accelerators. The architecture and the deployment of the trigger system in the first two runs for physics are presented, as well as the triggered event rates. The event recognition efficiency has been evaluated as a function of the deposited energy and the position of cosmic muons stopping inside the detector.

Neutrino detectors↗

DOE OSTI2020

Development of High-QE GaN Photodectors for Liquid Noble Particle Detectors

Detection of the handful of photons generated when a dark matter particle interacts in a liquid Xenon detector requires a new type of photodetector with very high detection efficiency at ultraviolet wavelengths, very low radioactive backgrounds, and essentially no measureable readout noise (achieved with devices with high intrisic gain). Such devices would find wide applicability to not only high energy physics experiments, but to a number of commercial applications including, e.g., biomedical imaging of fluorescent tags. We developed photodetectors based on amorphous GaN thin film structures (photocathodes) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on quartz windows. We also developed approaches to integrate these photocathode device structures with vacuum electron multipliers. All materials and fabrication techniques were developed to minimize radioactive backgrounds in materials, so these detectors could be used for very low count rate experiments, such as the future liquid-Xenon dark matter detectors, and future liquid-Argon neutrino detectors. We demonstrated growth of very high quantum efficiency amorphous GaN cathodes grown on a number of different substrates (Stainless steel, p-Silicon) reaching detection efficiencies of 80% at 220nm. The key to this growth was to use nitrogen plasma-assistend MBEs and very low growth temperatures. We also discovered that thinner structures (e.g.,40nm a-GaN thin films) had the best performance. We successfully demonstrated techniques for the vacuum transfer of these photocathode structures to a novel chamber that used hydraulics and bellow to form a cold indium bond needed to integrate these cathodes into sealed-tube devices. A complete, stand-along, device could not be completed during this proposal period due to difficulties in growing structures on the thick quartz window. Subsequent work is aimed at addressing this difficulty, by growing a buffer layer on the quartz substrate.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Unpaired image translation to mitigate domain shift in liquid argon time projection chamber detector responses

Deep learning algorithms often are developed and trained on a training dataset and deployed on test datasets. Any systematic difference between the training and a test dataset may severely degrade the final algorithm performance on the test dataset—what is known as the domain shift problem . This issue is prevalent in many scientific domains where algorithms are trained on simulated data but applied to real-world datasets. Typically, the domain shift problem is solved through various domain adaptation (DA) methods. However, these methods are often tailored for a specific downstream task, such as classification or semantic segmentation, and may not easily generalize to different tasks. This work explores the feasibility of using an alternative way to solve the domain shift problem that is not specific to any downstream algorithm. The proposed approach relies on modern Unpaired Image-to-Image (UI2I) translation techniques, designed to find translations between different image domains in a fully unsupervised fashion. In this study, the approach is applied to a domain shift problem commonly encountered in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detector research when seeking a way to translate samples between two differently distributed LArTPC detector datasets deterministically. This translation allows for mapping real-world data into the simulated data domain where the downstream algorithms can be run with much less domain-shift-related performance degradation. Conversely, using the translation from the simulated data to a real-world domain can increase the realism of the simulated dataset and reduce the magnitude of any systematic uncertainties. To evaluate the quality of the translations, we use both pixel-wise metrics and a downstream task to measure the effectiveness of UI2I methods for mitigating the domain shift problem. We adapted several popular UI2I translation algorithms to work on scientific data and demonstrated the viability of these techniques for solving the domain shift problem with LArTPC detector data. To facilitate further development of DA techniques for scientific datasets, the ‘Simple Liquid-Argon Track Samples’ dataset used in this study is also published.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Analysis of scintillation light dependence on Liquid Argon purity in the ICARUS detector

Previous studies have investigated the correlation between impurities concentration in Liquid Argon (LAr) and the temporal evolution of either the slow scintillation decay time or the light yield.These impurities typically consist of various molecular species. Electronegative contaminants directly affect electron drift and photon production, while other molecules, such as nitrogen (N$_{2}$), can influence LAr scintillation properties without necessarily affecting electron lifetime.Many current and future neutrino and dark-matter experiments use LAr detectors. This study aims to evaluate the measured electron lifetime in relation to the timing characteristics of the scintillation light signal in the SBN ICARUS detector at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The ICARUS detector consists of two cryostats that have shown different behaviors in the measured electron lifetime over the years. In particular, this study addresses the use of data collected under varying purity conditions in the two cryostats and presents the methodology used to extract scintillation timing characteristics and their correlation with LAr purity.

Saia, C. [Catania Astrophys. Observ.] (ORCID:00090↗

DOE OSTI2026

Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and Space Charge in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) Detectors

Overview This project focused on developing a high-fidelity numerical framework to simulate the multiphysics environment within Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detectors. The primary objective was to characterize the complex interplay between ion transport, background fluid dynamics, and electric field distortions—a critical factor for the calibration and sensitivity of next-generation High Energy Physics experiments, such as DUNE. Technical Achievements The research successfully yielded a hybrid numerical space-charge solver utilizing a Cell-Centered Finite Volume Method (FVM) for ion transport coupled with a Finite Element Method (FEM) for electric potential. Key accomplishments include: • Verification & Validation: The 3-D solver was rigorously verified against 1-D analytical solutions, demonstrating high numerical accuracy in predicting space-charge-induced field deviations. • Field Distortion Analysis: 3D simulations revealed that space charge effects introduce significant non-uniformities in the electric field. Critically, the research identified that background LAr flow velocities, when comparable to ion drift velocities, markedly exacerbate these distortions. • Technology Transfer: The resulting source code and comprehensive user manuals were successfully transferred to collaborators at Fermilab, providing a portable computational tool for the broader scientific community. Challenges and Future Directions While the space-charge solver achieved all performance metrics, the integrated fluid dynamics modeling encountered convergence challenges stemming from the extreme 200-fold disparity in length scales between the detector's 37 mm inlet pipes and the 8-meter global domain. To address this, the project has identified a clear technical pivot toward Hierarchical Geometric Adaptive Mesh Refinement (HG-AMR). By implementing an h-type refinement strategy with hanging nodes, future iterations of this solver will be capable of resolving localized high-gradient inlet flows without the prohibitive computational costs of regular grids. This advancement, combined with data-driven uncertainty quantification based on MicroBooNE-style calibration, will enable the precise modeling of detector responses in large-scale cryogenic environments where direct measurement remains difficult. Impact The computational tools developed under this award provide a foundation for enhancing the energy resolution and spatial reconstruction of noble liquid detectors. By bridging the gap between theoretical fluid dynamics and experimental field calibration, this work supports the DOE’s mission to advance the frontiers of neutrino physics and dark matter detection.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Demonstration and performance of an online data selection algorithm for liquid argon time projection chambers using MicroBooNE

The MicroBooNE detector is a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) that produces three-dimensional images of particle interactions using ionization charge collected by anode wire plane arrays and scintillation light collected by a light detection system. In addition to testing long-standing experimental neutrino anomalies and performing measurements of neutrino interactions with argon nuclei using the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, MicroBooNE aims to develop methodologies for rare beyond the Standard Model and off-beam physics searches. Looking ahead to the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), with MicroBooNE serving as a valuable testbed, achieving high sensitivity and livetime for off-beam physics while satisfying data processing and storage constraints will require data-driven, intelligent, and online or real-time data selection techniques. These techniques are essential for reducing data rates and preserving rare signals with high accuracy. In this paper, we describe a fast data selection algorithm suitable for online execution to identify electrons from stopping cosmic ray muons in the MicroBooNE detector utilizing ionization charge information, and present its performance. This represents the first demonstration of online data selection in a LArTPC using real data and charge information exclusively and provides an important proof-of-principle for applying such techniques to other LArTPC experiments such as the Short-Baseline Near Detector and DUNE.

Abratenko, P. [Tufts U. (main)]↗

DOE OSTI2022

The DUNE Photon Detection System

DUNE is an underground neutrino oscillation experiment that will be performing precision measurements of the PMNS matrix to determine unambiguously the mass ordering and the leptonic CP violation. It also comprises a rich non-accelerator physics program for the detection of supernova neutrinos, nucleon decay, and BSM physics. DUNE employs a high-power neutrino beam under construction at Fermilab together with the DUNE Near Detector, and four liquid argon TPCs (Far Detector) that will be installed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, 1300 km away from the neutrino source. The photon detection system (PDS) – which records the 128 nm scintillation light of argon and provides the time of interaction of the beam neutrinos in the Far Detector - is critical for studying nucleon decay and detecting Supernova Neutrino Bursts. The PDS also complements the calorimetric measurement performed by the TPC (i.e. the charge readout) and contributes to the energy calibration and time performance of the Far Detector. The article is an overview of the design of the PDS for the first DUNE far detector module, with special emphasis on VUV light trapping in a cryogenic environment, its technical challenges, and the expected physics performance. The status of the construction of the PDS and its validation in the Run II of ProtoDUNE-SP will be also presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

High-performance Generic Neutrino Detection in a LArTPC near the Earth's Surface with the MicroBooNE Detector

Large Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) are being increasingly adopted in neutrino oscillation experiments because of their superb imaging capabilities through the combination of both tracking and calorimetry in a fully active volume. Active LArTPC neutrino detectors at or near the Earth's surface, such as the MicroBooNE experiment, present a unique analysis challenge because of the large flux of cosmic-ray muons and the slow drift of ionization electrons. We present a novel Wire-Cell-based high-performance generic neutrino-detection technique implemented in MicroBooNE. The cosmic-ray background is reduced by a factor of 1.4$\times10^{5}$ resulting in a 9.7% cosmic contamination in the selected neutrino candidate events, for visible energies greater than 200~MeV, while the neutrino signal efficiency is retained at 88.4% for $\nu_{\mu}$ charged-current interactions in the fiducial volume in the same energy region. This significantly improved performance compared to existing reconstruction algorithms, marks a major milestone toward reaching the scientific goals of LArTPC neutrino oscillation experiments operating near the Earth's surface.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology. Technical Design Report

DUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2024

Track vs Shower Discrimination in the Event Reconstruction of the ICARUS Experiment

The ICARUS collaboration has employed the 760-ton T600 liquid argon TPC detector in a successful three-year physics run at the underground LNGS laboratory, performing a sensitive search for LSND-like anomalous appearance in the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso beam, which contributed to the constraints on the allowed neutrino oscillation parameters to a narrow region around 1 eV. After a significant overhaul at CERN, the T600 detector has been installed at Fermilab. The detector commissioning phase lasted until June 2022, then ICARUS moved to data taking for neutrino oscillation physics collecting events from the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) and the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beam off-axis. The initial experiment goals are to either confirm or refute the claim by Neutrino-4 short-baseline reactor experiment, perform measurements of neutrino cross sections with the NuMI beam and several Beyond Standard Model searches. Then, ICARUS will jointly search for evidence of sterile neutrinos with the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND). In this contribution, we discuss recent changes to the standard TPC event reconstruction that uses Pandora, a pattern recognition software common to liquid argon-based detectors. In particular, we performed a new training of the Boosted Decision Tree (BDT) employed to separate track-like and shower-like reconstructed particles using Monte Carlo simulations of neutrino events from BNB in ICARUS. We compare the discrimination capabilities of the old and new BDT training and discuss further improvements of this algorithm.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Separating beam-induced and cosmogenic muon backgrounds in the ICARUS detector

Due to high cosmic ray flux near the earth's surface, the rejection of cosmogenic muon backgrounds is a preeminent concern for particle detectors using Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) technology. One such detector, ICARUS of the short baseline neutrino experiment, also observes muons generated from neutrino interactions with nuclei in the surrounding rock. Our analysis exploits the differences between cosmogenic and rock-generated muons to separate rock-generated muons from the background. We develop a selection with 96.5\% efficiency and 81\% accuracy. Use of this selection on data and Monte-Carlo indicates monte-carlo may underestimate the true rock muon flux. These results have implications for calibration of the ICARUS detector and tuning of simulation.

Wells, David↗

DOE OSTI2022

SoLAr: Solar Neutrinos in Liquid Argon

SoLAr is a new concept for a liquid-argon neutrino detector technology to extend the sensitivities of these devices to the MeV energy range - expanding the physics reach of these next-generation detectors to include solar neutrinos. We propose this novel concept to significantly improve the precision on solar neutrino mixing parameters and to observe the "hep branch" of the proton-proton fusion chain. The SoLAr detector will achieve flavour-tagging of solar neutrinos in liquid argon. The SoLAr technology will be based on the concept of monolithic light-charge pixel-based readout which addresses the main requirements for such a detector: a low energy threshold with excellent energy resolution (approximately 7%) and background rejection through pulse-shape discrimination. The SoLAr concept is also timely as a possible technology choice for the DUNE "Module of Opportunity", which could serve as a next-generation multi-purpose observatory for neutrinos from the MeV to the GeV range. The goal of SoLAr is to observe solar neutrinos in a 10 ton-scale detector and to demonstrate that the required background suppression and energy resolution can be achieved. SoLAr will pave the way for a precise measurement of the 8-B flux, an improved precision on solar neutrino mixing parameters, and ultimately lead to the first observation of hep neutrinos in the DUNE Module of Opportunity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Novel Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber Readouts

Liquid argon time-projection chambers (LArTPCs) have become a prominent tool for experiments in particle physics. Recent years have yielded significant advances in the techniques used to capture the signals generated by these cryogenic detectors. This article summarizes these novel developments for detection of ionization electrons and scintillation photons in LArTPCs. New methods to capture ionization signals address the challenges of scaling traditional techniques to the large scales necessary for future experiments. Pixelated readouts improve signal fidelity and expand the applicability of LArTPCs to higher-rate environments. Methods that leverage amplification in argon enable measurements in the keV regime and below. Techniques to enhance collection of argon scintillation photons improve calorimetry and expand the physics program for very large detectors. Future efforts aim to demonstrate systems for the combined detection of both electrons and photons.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2026

From Detector Layout to Signal Analysis: Geometry Optimization and Neutron-Gamma Tagging in Plastic Scintillator Detectors

Neutrinos are elementary particles with many properties still unknown. Their masses so far have only upper and lower limits. Still, due to neutrino oscillations, it is clear that they are not massless, as stated by the Standard Model of Elementary Particles. Neutrinos are also present in the Universe in vast amounts, but they rarely interact with the surrounding matter. Their abundance makes them very interesting for many theories beyond the Standard Model, e.g., dark matter searches and CP symmetry violation in the leptonic sector, which could be (partially) responsible for the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry in today's Universe.\\ The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiment that will study neutrinos with unprecedented precision and may answer many open questions. DUNE uses a powerful neutrino beam from Fermilab. It consists of a Near Detector (ND) complex to measure neutrinos before oscillat ion, and a Far Detector (FD) complex $1300\ \mathrm{km}$ away to measure them after oscillation. As part of the ND complex, measurements are also possible with different angles to the neutrino beam. This enables excellent control of systematic uncertainties of e.g., neutrino cross section measurements.\\ One detector in the near detector complex is The Muon Spectrometer (TMS), an extension of a Liquid Argon (LAr) detector that measures the charge and momentum of muons produced in neutrino interactions within the LAr. The design of this detector, which consists of alternating layers of steel and plastic scintillator bars, must be optimized for the expected muon energies.\\ In this thesis, a study of the optimal module orientation plan is presented, which is necessary for the physics performance of the near detector complex and, by extension, DUNE. As part of this study, the event reconstruction was also developed and improved. Simulated muons are then reconstructed, and the performan ce of different module orientation plans is tested.\\ As a second part, a study of neutron and gamma tagging using a Pulse Shape Discriminating (PSD) plastic scintillator is presented. The properties of this material allow particle differentiation based on the temporal distribution of emitted light. A novel approach to using the individual light signals was successfully tested using data from a small, local test setup.

Nehm, Asa [Mainz U.]↗

DOE OSTI2023

LBNF/DUNE Cryostats and Cryogenics Infrastructure for the DUNE Far Detector (Design Report)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2026

MIP dQ/dx Calibration in DUNE ND-LAr Prototypes with Pixelated Charge Readout

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a next-generation long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that will employ LArTPC technology in a near detector placed at Fermilab and a far detector at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, at a baseline of 1300 km. The DUNE Liquid Argon Near Detector (ND-LAr) design takes into account the high neutrino intensity expected from the beam at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF): 35 modules, each containing two optically separated time projection chambers, are instrumented with a pixel-based, true 3D charge readout alongside scintillation light traps to disentangle the O(100) interactions expected per 10us beam spill. A robust prototyping program supports ND-LAr’s design: the 2x2 Demonstrator consists of four scaled-down ND-LAr modules exposed to the NuMI beam at Fermilab, and the Full Scale Demonstrator (FSD) is a single ND-LAr module tested with cosmic rays at the University of Bern. We present here an analysis of minimum ionizing particle (MIP) tracks selected from 2x2 beam data and FSD cosmic ray data used to benchmark the pixel-based charge readout simulation and calibration in both detectors, with the ultimate goal of validating the design of DUNE ND-LAr as well as informing future calibration methods. This poster will showcase the dependence of the charge response on track inclination as well as a per-pixel dQ/dX extraction.

Mandujano, Roberto [UC, Irvine]↗

DOE OSTI2024

MicroBooNE Electron-Neutrino Cross-Section Results

Measurement of the electron-neutrino cross-section with argon ($\nu$-Ar) is crucial for current and future neutrino experiments. Results from MicroBooNE detector, a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) based at Fermilab, provide the most extensive and precise determination of these electron-neutrino cross-sections. MicroBooNE is situated on both on-axis and off-axis beams: the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) and Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beam, respectively. The background for both beams is dominated by showers from neutral pion decay, necessitating an electron-photon separation technique. In this proceeding, we review three recent electron-neutrino cross-section results from MicroBooNE using NuMI and BNB.

Guzzo, Marina [Edinburgh U.]↗