Liquid xenon detectors for particle physics and astrophysics

Abstract

This article reviews the progress made over the last 20 years in the\ndevelopment and applications of liquid xenon detectors in particle physics,\nastrophysics and medical imaging experiments. We begin with a summary of the\nfundamental properties of liquid xenon as radiation detection medium, in light\nof the most current theoretical and experimental information. After a brief\nintroduction of the different type of liquid xenon detectors, we continue with\na review of past, current and future experiments using liquid xenon to search\nfor rare processes and to image radiation in space and in medicine. We will\nintroduce each application with a brief survey of the underlying scientific\nmotivation and experimental requirements, before reviewing the basic\ncharacteristics and expected performance of each experiment. Within this decade\nit appears likely that large volume liquid xenon detectors operated in\ndifferent modes will contribute to answering some of the most fundamental\nquestions in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, fulfilling the most\ndemanding detection challenges. From experiments like MEG, currently the\nlargest liquid xenon scintillation detector in operation, dedicated to the rare\nmu -> e + gamma decay, to the future XMASS which also exploits only liquid\nxenon scintillation to address an ambitious program of rare event searches, to\nthe class of time projection chambers like XENON and EXO which exploit both\nscintillation and ionization of liquid xenon for dark matter and neutrinoless\ndouble beta decay, respectively, we anticipate unrivaled performance and\nimportant contributions to physics in the next few years.\n