{"id":37289,"date":"2020-05-15T11:40:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T09:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"\/gruppo2\/?page_id=37289"},"modified":"2026-05-04T11:38:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T09:38:22","slug":"xenon-en","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"\/gruppo2\/en\/xenon-en\/","title":{"rendered":"XENON (en)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

XENON<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

XENON<\/strong> is an international scientific collaboration with participant institutions spread across three continents (Europe, America and Asia). XENON is the world leading project for the direct search of dark matter: a fundamental constituent of the Universe. We know that dark matter exists and it is much more abundant than ordinary matter. However, dark matter has never been observed thus far. A direct evidence of its presence would be a milestone in the history of physics and a huge step forward for our understanding of the Universe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The XENON experiments, hosted at the underground INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), operate time projection chambers (TPC) detectors to catch interactions of dark matter particles with a liquid xenon (LXe) target. The first experiment, XENON10<\/strong> (2005), and its successor, XENON100<\/strong> (2009), obtained the world’s best results on the direct dark matter search.<\/span><\/p>\n

The collaboration has opened the ton-scale era of dark matter detectors with the XENON1T<\/strong> experiment (2016), by operating a TPC filled with 2 tonnes of LXe. The very large target and the lowest background level ever allowed XENON1T to reach an unprecedented sensitivity to dark matter, but not only. Indeed, XENON1T was able to detect the rarest process ever observed in human history: the double electron capture decay of 124<\/sup>Xe.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The current phase of the project, XENONnT<\/strong>, was successfully constructed on schedule in 2020 despite the unprecedented global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific operations began in 2021, pushing the sensitivity of dark matter searches to new levels through an active liquid xenon target of 6 tonnes and a record-low radioactive background. The experiment has already achieved major scientific milestones, including the world\u2019s most stringent constraints on WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-sections and the landmark first observation of solar 8<\/span><\/sup>B neutrinos via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE\u03bdNS).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The XENON1T experiment in Hall B of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (2018). On the left: the 10 m high-Cherenkov muon detector which contains the liquid xenon TPC. On the right: the building housing the experiment’s auxiliary systems, including the xenon purification, cooling and storage systems and the data acquisition system. The XENONnT upgrade will take advantage of many of the infrastructure already installed for XENON1T.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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INFN Bologna activities<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The XENON group of Bologna joined the collaboration in 2013 and its activities cover several areas of the experimental research project.<\/span><\/p>\n

Muon Veto  <\/strong>The muon veto system of the XENON1T and XENONnT experiments has been designed, tested and installed under the direction of the Bologna group, which mantains the system and analyze its data. Such large water Cherenkov detector allows to suppress the background due to neutrons induced by cosmic muons that penetrate the Gran Sasso mountain and reach the LNGS experimental hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neutron Veto  <\/strong>Differently from XENON1T, the XENONnT experiments has an additional detector surrounding the TPC. This is the neutron veto, which acts against neutrons originated from material radioactivity. The Bologna group is responsible for the system, from its design to the installation, operation and maintenance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monte Carlo Simulations  <\/strong>The Bologna group plays a coordinating role in the simulation activities of the experiment and in the study of the background sources for both XENON1T and XENONnT. Such simulations are fundamental to characterize the detector response and predict the expected background from ordinary particle interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Data Analysis  <\/strong>The analysis of the XENON1T data, that produced the best results currently available on direct dark matter research, was conducted with the contribution of the Bologna group. The commitment to data analysis will also continue in XENONnT.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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XENON INFN Bologna staff members<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Gabriella Sartorelli<\/strong><\/span>
Professore ordinario <\/em><\/span>
PI XENON Bologna<\/strong><\/span>
gabriella.sartorelli@bo.infn.it<\/em><\/span>
+39 051 20 9 1062<\/span><\/td>\n		Marco Selvi<\/span><\/strong>
Primo ricercatore INFN<\/em><\/span>
Responsabile nazionale XENON<\/strong><\/span>
marco.selvi@bo.infn.it<\/em><\/span>
+39 051 20 9 1120<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Graziano Bruni<\/span><\/strong>
Dirigente di ricerca INFN<\/em><\/span>
graziano.bruni@bo.infn.it<\/em><\/span>
+39 051 20 9 1057<\/span><\/td>\n		Lorenzo Bellagamba<\/span><\/strong>
Primo ricercatore INFN<\/em><\/span>
bellagamba@bo.infn.it<\/em><\/span>
+39 051 20 9 1082<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Franco Semeria<\/span><\/strong>
Primo tecnologo INFN<\/em><\/span>
semeria@bo.infn.it<\/em><\/span>
+39 051 20 9 1192<\/span><\/td>\n		\n

Pietro Di Gangi<\/span><\/strong>
Ricercatore INFN
<\/em><\/span>pietro.digangi@bo.infn.it
<\/em><\/span>+39 051 20 9 1130<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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XENON websites<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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XENON Bologna<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
xenonexperiment.org<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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XENON social media<\/h5>\n\n\n\n