XAX: A multi-ton, multi-target detection system for dark matter, double beta decay and pp solar neutrinos

A multi-target detection system XAX, comprising concentric 10 ton targets of 136Xe and 129/131Xe, together with a geometrically similar or larger target of liquid Ar, is described. Each is configured as a two-phase scintillation/ionization TPC detector, enhanced by a full 4π array of ultra-low radioactivity quartz photon intensifying detectors (QUPIDs) replacing the conventional photomultipliers for detection of scintillation light. It is shown that background levels in XAX can be reduced to the level required for dark matter particle (WIMP) mass measurement at a 10−10 pb WIMP-nucleon cross-section, with single-event sensitivity below 10−11 pb. The use of multiple target elements allows for confirmation of the A2 dependence of a coherent cross-section, and the different Xe isotopes provide information on the spin-dependence of the dark matter interaction. The event rates observed by Xe and Ar would modulate annually with opposite phases from each other for WIMP mass >∼100 GeV/c2. The large target mass of 136Xe and high degree of background reduction allow neutrinoless double beta decay to be observed with lifetimes of 1027–1028 years, corresponding to the Majorana neutrino mass range 0.01–0.1 eV, the most likely range from observed neutrino mass differences. The use of a 136Xe-depleted 129/131Xe target will also allow measurement of the pp solar neutrino spectrum to a precision of 1–2%.