Scintillation Light, Ionization Yield and Scintillation Decay Times in High Pressure Xenon and Xenon Methane

Scintillation light, ionization yield and scintillation decay times have been measured in xenon and in its mixture with a 0.05% concentration of methane as a function of the reduced electric field (E/N)-the ratio of the electric field strength to the number density of gas-at a pressure of 21 atm. The measurements of scintillation decay times in the xenon-methane mixture have been made for the first time as a function of the reduced electric field (E/N). An ionization chamber has been constructed to simultaneously measure electrons and photons from a ²³⁹Pu source, which is placed in the center of a cathode in the chamber. The main peculiarity of the chamber is a movable cathode to measure scintillation light and ionization yield at various distances from the anode and monitor the purity of the investigated gas. It has been observed that both scintillation light and ionization yield decrease when methane is added into the xenon gas. Scintillation decay times in the xenon-methane mixture are observed to be longer than in the pure xenon when the electric field strength increases.