The Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is a prime candidate detector for future neutrino experiments, from oscillation studies to underground neutrino observatories and proton decay searches.
A large international project based on this technology is currently under consideration for the LBNF Facility hosted at Fermilab in Batavia, IL, on the very large mass scale of 40 kton. Monolithic detectors on such a scale introduce a number of issues, both technical and political. Through a fully-modular and innovative design ArgonCube will serve as demonstrator addressing these issues.
Modularity allows for the construction effort to be distributed between collaborating institutes, simplifying funding and providing a tangible source for local prestige. Unlike a monolithic detector, a modular design allows for redundancy and is flexible to extensive and continual upgrades without incurring downtime or inhibitive costs. Higher event pile-up rates intrinsic to longer drift times are also negated through the many short TPCs. The frailty and subsequent design limitations of large wire planes is removed entirely.
ArgonCube R&D work has two main tasks:
- Assessment of the proposed modular detector design
- Demonstration of new signal readout methods
Please see the website dedicated to the project.