Dark matter results from 100 live days of XENON100 data

We present results from the direct search for dark matter with the XENON100 detector, installed underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN, Italy. XENON100 is a two-phase time-projection chamber with a 62 kg liquid xenon target. Interaction vertex reconstruction in three dimensions with millimeter precision allows the selection of only the innermost 48 kg as the ultralow background fiducial target. In 100.9 live days of data, acquired between January and June 2010, no evidence for dark matter is found. Three candidate events were observed in the signal region with an expected background of (1.8 ± 0.6) events. This leads to the most stringent limit on dark matter interactions today, excluding spin-independent elastic weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) nucleon scattering cross sections above 7.0 × 10(-45) cm(2) for a WIMP mass of 50 GeV/c(2) at 90% confidence level.     

Spectroscopy of electron-induced fluorescence in organic liquid scintillators

Emission spectra of several organic liquid-scintillator mixtures which are relevant for the proposed LENA detector have been measured by exciting the medium with electrons of ∼10 keV. The results are compared with spectra resulting from ultraviolet light excitation. Good agreement between spectra measured by both methods has been found.     

First dark matter results from the XENON100 experiment

The XENON100 experiment, in operation at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, is designed to search for dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) scattering off 62 kg of liquid xenon in an ultralow background dual-phase time projection chamber. In this Letter, we present first dark matter results from the analysis of 11.17 live days of nonblind data, acquired in October and November 2009. In the selected fiducial target of 40 kg, and within the predefined signal region, we observe no events and hence exclude spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross sections above 3.4 × 10??? cm2 for 55 GeV/c2 WIMPs at 90% confidence level. Below 20 GeV/c2, this result constrains the interpretation of the CoGeNT and DAMA signals as being due to spin-independent, elastic, light mass WIMP interactions.     

Electron spin density distribution in the polymer phase of CsC60: assignment of the NMR spectrum

We present high resolution 133Cs-13C double resonance NMR data and 13C-13C NMR correlation spectra of 13C enriched samples of the polymeric phase of CsC60. These data lead to a partial assignment of the lines in the 13C NMR spectrum of CsC60 to the carbon positions on the C60 molecule. A plausible completion of the assignment can be made on the basis of an ab initio calculation. The data support the view that the conduction electron density is concentrated at the C60 "equator," away from the interfullerene bonds.