Investigation of the light production in liquid Xenon during the first ns

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a medical imaging modality enabling the detection of many physiological process, such as the uptake of specific molecule by cancer cells. Inside the patient, 511keV gamma produced by positron annihilation is detected and the annihilated point is mapped. Detecting the interaction time of each gamma-ray with a 10ps timing resolution can dramatically improve the image quality or reduce the amount of radioactive material injected in the patient by reducing the imaging time. Liquid Xenon coupled to Photon to Digital Converter for the detection of scintillation photons is promising solution for reaching 10ps timing resolution. However, it is not clear that enough photons are produced in liquid Xenon during the first 100ps to achieve such a performance. In addition to PET application, measuring light production in liquid Xenon during the first 100ps and even the first ns may enable new background rejection capabilities when searching for dark matter interactions and to a lesser extent neutrino-less double beta decays.

In this project, a small detector called the LoLX (Light only Liquid Xenon) detector is used to study the light produced during first ns in liquid Xenon.

Faculty Supervisor:

Fabrice Retiere

Student:

Partner:

Gangneung-Wonju National University

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Quantum Science; Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Technology

University:

TRIUMF

Program: