Design and performance of the GERDA low-background cryostat for operation in 
water

Knöpfle, Karl Tasso; Schwingenheuer, Bernhard

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/17/02/P02038

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Design and performance of the GERDA low-background cryostat for operation in water

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Knöpfle, Karl Tasso
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Schwingenheuer, Bernhard
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-0221/17/02/P02038/pdf
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Citation

Knöpfle, K. T., & Schwingenheuer, B. (2022). Design and performance of the GERDA low-background cryostat for operation in water. Journal of Instrumentation, 17: P02038. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/17/02/P02038.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000A-0D96-F

Abstract

In searching for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of ⁷⁶Ge the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso has achieved an unprecedented low background of well below 10^-3 cts/(keV·kg·yr) in the region of interest. It has taken advantage of the first realization of a novel shielding concept based on a large cryostat filled with a liquid noble gas that is immersed in a water tank. The germanium detectors are operated without encapsulation in liquid argon. Argon and water shield the environmental background from the laboratory and the cryostat construction materials to a negligible level. The same approach has been adopted in the meantime by various experiments. This paper provides an overview of the design and the operation experience of the 64 m³ liquid argon cryostat and its associated infrastructure. The discussion inludes the challenging safety issues associated with the operation of a large cryostat in a water tank.