Dual-Polarity Ion Drift Chamber: Experimental results with Xe–SF6 mixtures

Abstract

A new experimental system was recently developed to measure the mobility of both positive and negative ions: the Dual-Polarity Ion Drift Chamber (DP-IDC). This system is intended to better understand the transport properties of ions in gases relevant for the performance of large volume gaseous detectors like the Negative Ion Time Projection Chambers (NITPCs). In this work, we present a description of the experimental setup and technique used, and the initial studies carried out in Xe–SF6 mixtures, whose interest has attracted attention as a possible alternative in searches for the neutrinoless double-beta decay.