Detector Performance and Dark Matter Sensitivity of CYGNO with HFO-1234ze Gas Admixtures
Abstract
The CYGNO project develops optical time projection chambers for directional dark matter searches, using a He:CF4 (60:40) gas mixture at atmospheric pressure and a triple-GEM amplification stage. We investigate the addition of 1-10% HFO-1234ze as a hydrogen-containing additive with low global warming potential. The charge response and scintillation light yield are studied with the MANGO prototype, complemented by secondary-scintillation spectroscopy of the baseline mixture and mixtures containing 1% and 2.5% HFO. Increasing the HFO concentration shifts the charge-response curves towards higher GEM voltages and strongly suppresses the scintillation emission in both the ultraviolet and visible bands. We use the measured optical response to estimate the impact on projected spin-independent WIMP-nucleon and spin-dependent WIMP-proton exclusion limits for a CYGNO-like directional detector. Under the assumed detector-response model, the higher optical energy threshold largely outweighs the benefit of the additional light target, although a 1% HFO admixture retains a limited advantage for low-mass spin-dependent interactions. An idealized fixed-threshold benchmark is also considered to illustrate the potential of the modified target composition without the optical threshold penalty.
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BibTeX
@misc{amaro2026detector,
title = {{Detector Performance and Dark Matter Sensitivity of CYGNO with HFO-1234ze Gas Admixtures}},
author = {F. D. Amaro and R. Antonietti and E. Baracchini and L. Benussi and F. M. Brunbauer and C. Capoccia and M. Caponero and L. G. M. de Carvalho and G. Cavoto and I. A. Costa and A. Croce and M. D'Astolfo and G. D'Imperio and E. Dane' and G. Dho and E. Di Marco and J. M. F. dos Santos and D. Fiorina and F. Iacoangeli and Z. Islam and E. Kemp and H. P. Lima Jr and G. Maccarrone and R. D. P. Mano and D. J. G. Marques and G. Mazzitelli and P. Meloni and A. Messina and C. M. B. Monteiro and R. A. Nobrega and E. Olivieri and I. F. Pains and E. Paoletti and F. Petrucci and S. Piacentini and D. Pierluigi and D. Pinci and F. Renga and A. Russo and G. Saviano and P. A. O. C. Silva and N. J. Spooner and R. Tesauro and S. Tomassini and D. Tozzi},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.20370},
eprint = {2607.20370},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.20370},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Detector Performance and Dark Matter Sensitivity of CYGNO with HFO-1234ze Gas Admixtures
AU - F. D. Amaro
AU - R. Antonietti
AU - E. Baracchini
AU - L. Benussi
AU - F. M. Brunbauer
AU - C. Capoccia
AU - M. Caponero
AU - L. G. M. de Carvalho
AU - G. Cavoto
AU - I. A. Costa
AU - A. Croce
AU - M. D'Astolfo
AU - G. D'Imperio
AU - E. Dane'
AU - G. Dho
AU - E. Di Marco
AU - J. M. F. dos Santos
AU - D. Fiorina
AU - F. Iacoangeli
AU - Z. Islam
AU - E. Kemp
AU - H. P. Lima Jr
AU - G. Maccarrone
AU - R. D. P. Mano
AU - D. J. G. Marques
AU - G. Mazzitelli
AU - P. Meloni
AU - A. Messina
AU - C. M. B. Monteiro
AU - R. A. Nobrega
AU - E. Olivieri
AU - I. F. Pains
AU - E. Paoletti
AU - F. Petrucci
AU - S. Piacentini
AU - D. Pierluigi
AU - D. Pinci
AU - F. Renga
AU - A. Russo
AU - G. Saviano
AU - P. A. O. C. Silva
AU - N. J. Spooner
AU - R. Tesauro
AU - S. Tomassini
AU - D. Tozzi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.20370
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.20370
AB - The CYGNO project develops optical time projection chambers for directional dark matter searches, using a He:CF4 (60:40) gas mixture at atmospheric pressure and a triple-GEM amplification stage. We investigate the addition of 1-10% HFO-1234ze as a hydrogen-containing additive with low global warming potential. The charge response and scintillation light yield are studied with the MANGO prototype, complemented by secondary-scintillation spectroscopy of the baseline mixture and mixtures containing 1% and 2.5% HFO. Increasing the HFO concentration shifts the charge-response curves towards higher GEM voltages and strongly suppresses the scintillation emission in both the ultraviolet and visible bands. We use the measured optical response to estimate the impact on projected spin-independent WIMP-nucleon and spin-dependent WIMP-proton exclusion limits for a CYGNO-like directional detector. Under the assumed detector-response model, the higher optical energy threshold largely outweighs the benefit of the additional light target, although a 1% HFO admixture retains a limited advantage for low-mass spin-dependent interactions. An idealized fixed-threshold benchmark is also considered to illustrate the potential of the modified target composition without the optical threshold penalty.
ER -