https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11430-0
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Measurement of isotopic separation of argon with the prototype of the cryogenic distillation plant Aria for dark matter searches
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Department of Physics, University of Houston, 77204, Houston, TX, USA
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INFN Catania, 95121, Catania, Italy
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Università of Catania, 95124, Catania, Italy
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Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-090, São Paulo, Brazil
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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 99352, Richland, WA, USA
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Department of Physics and Astronomy, Università degli Studi di Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
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INFN Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
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Physics Department, Augustana University, 57197, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
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TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, V6T 2A3, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, 125047, Moscow, Russia
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INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, 35020, Legnaro, Padova, Italy
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Department of Physics, Royal Holloway University of London, TW20 0EX, Egham, UK
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Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234, Moscow, Russia
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CIEMAT, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, 28040, Madrid, Spain
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Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
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INFN Napoli, 80126, Naples, Italy
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INFN Pisa, 56127, Pisa, Italy
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Physics Department, Università degli Studi di Pisa, 56127, Pisa, Italy
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Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia
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Novosibirsk State University, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia
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INFN Cagliari, 09042, Cagliari, Italy
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Physics Department, Università degli Studi di Genova, 16146, Genova, Italy
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INFN Genova, 16146, Genova, Italy
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Department of Physics, Carleton University, K1S 5B6, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, 1211, Geneve 23, Switzerland
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INFN Roma Tre, 00146, Rome, Italy
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Mathematics and Physics Department, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, 00146, Rome, Italy
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Physics Department, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, 09042, Cagliari, Italy
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INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67100, Assergi, AQ, Italy
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Gran Sasso Science Institute, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy
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Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, 00184, Rome, Italy
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Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, 09123, Cagliari, Italy
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Physics Department, Università degli Studi “Federico II” di Napoli, 80126, Naples, Italy
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Department of Strutture per l’Ingegneria e l’Architettura, Università degli Studi “Federico II” di Napoli, 80131, Naples, Italy
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INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, 80131, Naples, Italy
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Centro de Astropartículas y Física de Altas Energías, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain
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M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, 30-348, Krakow, Poland
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INFN Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy
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INFN Torino, 10125, Turin, Italy
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LPNHE, CNRS/IN2P3, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, 75252, Paris, France
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INFN Sezione di Roma, 00185, Rome, Italy
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Physics Department, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185, Rome, Italy
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Physics Department, Università degli Studi di Salerno, 84084, Salerno, Italy
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INFN Gruppo Collegato di Salerno, Sezione di Napoli, 84084, Salerno, Italy
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Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering Department “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy
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Saint Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188350, Gatchina, Russia
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National Research Centre Kurchatov Institute, 123182, Moscow, Russia
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Amherst Center for Fundamental Interactions and Physics Department, University of Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, MA, USA
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Department of Physics, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA
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INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, 00044, Frascati, Italy
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APC, Université de Paris, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013, Paris, France
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Physics Department, Princeton University, 08544, Princeton, NJ, USA
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Institute for Particle Physics, ETH Zürich, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
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Department of Electronics and Communications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129, Turin, Italy
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Williams College, Physics Department, 01267, Williamstown, MA, USA
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Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Hawai’i, 96822, Honolulu, HI, USA
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Fondazione Bruno Kessler, 38123, Povo, Italy
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Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, 38123, Povo, Italy
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Universiatat de Barcelona, Barcelona E-08028, Catalonia, Spain
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National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, 115409, Moscow, Russia
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Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980, Dubna, Russia
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Institute of High Energy Physics, 100049, Beijing, China
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Engineering and Architecture Faculty, Università di Enna Kore, 94100, Enna, Italy
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INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, 95123, Catania, Italy
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Department of Physics, University of Alberta, T6G 2R3, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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AstroCeNT, Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 00-614, Poland
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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, 60510, Batavia, IL, USA
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SNOLAB, P3Y 1N2, Lively, ON, Canada
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Department of Physics and Astronomy, Laurentian University, P3E 2C6, Sudbury, ON, Canada
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Radiation Physics Laboratory, Belgorod National Research University, 308007, Belgorod, Russia
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Pharmacy Department, Università degli Studi “Federico II” di Napoli, 80131, Naples, Italy
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Fundación ARAID, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain
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Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Queen’s University, K7L 3N6, Kingston, ON, Canada
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Physics Department, Lancaster University, LA1 4YB, Lancaster, UK
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Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy
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Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK
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Physics Department, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy
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Brookhaven National Laboratory, 11973, Upton, NY, USA
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Chemical, Materials, and Industrial Production Engineering Department, Università degli Studi “Federico II” di Napoli, 80126, Napoli, Italy
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Virginia Tech, 24061, Blacksburg, VA, USA
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Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California, 90095, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Department of Physics and Engineering, Fort Lewis College, 81301, Durango, CO, USA
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Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, 93-590, Lodz, Poland
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Department of Mechanical, Chemical, and Materials Engineering, Università degli Studi, 09042, Cagliari, Italy
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University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
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Institut für Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55128, Mainz, Germany
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Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, 92507, Riverside, CA, USA
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Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, The Oliver Lodge Laboratory, L69 7ZE, Liverpool, UK
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School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
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Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Technology, Harwell Oxford, OX11 0QX, Didcot, UK
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Physics Department, Temple University, 19122, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FD, Edinburgh, UK
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Department of Physics, University of Warwick, CV47AL, Coventry, UK
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Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy
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CarboSulcis S.p.A.-Miniera Monte Sinni, 09010, Gonnesa, Italy
Received:
25
January
2023
Accepted:
24
March
2023
Published online:
31
May
2023
The Aria cryogenic distillation plant, located in Sardinia, Italy, is a key component of the DarkSide-20k experimental program for WIMP dark matter searches at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. Aria is designed to purify the argon, extracted from underground wells in Colorado, USA, and used as the DarkSide-20k target material, to detector-grade quality. In this paper, we report the first measurement of argon isotopic separation by distillation with the 26 m tall Aria prototype. We discuss the measurement of the operating parameters of the column and the observation of the simultaneous separation of the three stable argon isotopes: 
, 
, and 
. We also provide a detailed comparison of the experimental results with commercial process simulation software. This measurement of isotopic separation of argon is a significant achievement for the project, building on the success of the initial demonstration of isotopic separation of nitrogen using the same equipment in 2019.
S. Farenzena, N. Lami, F. Lippi, N. Maccioni, C. Macia, G. M. Sabiu: not a member of the DarkSide-20k Collaboration .
© The Author(s) 2023
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Funded by SCOAP3. SCOAP3 supports the goals of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development.
