Eur. Phys. J. C (2017) 77: 881
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5326-3

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

The XENON1T dark matter experiment

¹ Laboratori Nazionli del Gran Sasso, Assergi, Italy
² Physics Department, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
³ Nikhef and the University of Amsterdam, Science Park, 1098XG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
⁴ INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and Gran Sasso Science Institute, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy
⁵ Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Bologna and INFN-Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
⁶ Institut für Physik & Exzellenzcluster PRISMA, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099, Mainz, Germany
⁷ LIBPhys, Department of Physics, University of Coimbra, 3004-516, Coimbra, Portugal
⁸ New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
⁹ Physik Institut, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
¹⁰ Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
¹¹ Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
¹² Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
¹³ Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
¹⁴ Physikalisches Institut, Universität Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
¹⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
¹⁶ SUBATECH, IMT Atlantique, CNRS/IN2P3, Université de Nantes, 44307, Nantes, France
¹⁷ Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
¹⁸ Institut für Kernphysik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 48149, Münster, Germany
¹⁹ INFN-Torino and Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, 10125, Turin, Italy
²⁰ Department of Physics and Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
²¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
²² LPNHE, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS/IN2P3, 75252, Paris, France
²³ Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

^* e-mail: xenon@lngs.infn.it

Received: 24 August 2017
Accepted: 23 October 2017
Published online: 18 December 2017

Abstract

The XENON1T experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is the first WIMP dark matter detector operating with a liquid xenon target mass above the ton-scale. Out of its 3.2 t liquid xenon inventory, 2.0 t constitute the active target of the dual-phase time projection chamber. The scintillation and ionization signals from particle interactions are detected with low-background photomultipliers. This article describes the XENON1T instrument and its subsystems as well as strategies to achieve an unprecedented low background level. First results on the detector response and the performance of the subsystems are also presented.