LBNO-DEMO (WA105): A large demonstrator of the Liquid Argon double phase TPC

Abstract

LBNO-DEMO (WA105) is a large demonstrator of the double phase liquid argon TPC intended to develop and test the main elements of the GLACIER-based design for the purpose of scaling it up to the 10-50 kton size needed for Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation studies. The crucial components of the design are: ultra-high argon purity in non-evacuable tank, long drifts, very high drift voltages, large area Micro Pattern Gas Detectors, and cold preamplifiers. The active volume of the demonstrator is 6×6×6 m3 (approximately 300t). WA105 is under construction at CERN and will be exposed to charged particle beams (0.5-20 GeV/c) in the North Area in 2018. The data will provide the necessary calibration of the detector performance and benchmark reconstruction algorithms. This project is a crucial milestone for the long baseline neutrino program, including projects like LBNO and DUNE.