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Abstract:
Dealing with extremely low event rates, background reduction and discrimination
are essential challenges in dark matter direct detection experiments. The major
contribution to the internal background in XENON100 is due to the radioactive
noble gas radon which emanates from the detector walls into the liquid xenon
target. To gain higher sensitivity, the radon contamination of the XENON1T
detector, start of construction is in 2013, should be minimized due to careful
material selection and a radon purification system based on adsorption. In this
thesis, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to study the internal background
induced by the radioactive decay of radon and its progenies for a XENON1T model
detector. Then, an experimental setup to measure the radon adsorption on porous
materials is introduced and tested. A procedure for measuring simultaneously the
adsorption of radon and a second present gas component is given. Finally, results
of the radon adsorption on activated carbon samples in presence of xenon are
shown. These measurements will help to select the most appropriate adsorbent
for the radon purification system in the XENON1T experiment.
