https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4372-6
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
TREX-DM: a low-background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection
1
Grupo de Física Nuclear y Astropartículas, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain
2
Centro Universitario de la Defensa, Universidad de Zaragoza, Crta. de Huesca s/n, 50090, Zaragoza, Spain
* e-mail: iguaz@unizar.es
Received:
9
December
2015
Accepted:
11
September
2016
Published online:
27
September
2016
If Dark Matter is made of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) with masses below 
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 low thresholds 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 Micromegas-based TPC to search for low-mass WIMPs. The detector is designed to host an active mass of 
kg of Ar at 10 bar, or alternatively 
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.
© The Author(s), 2016
