Wavelength-Resolved Timing of Near-Infrared Scintillation in Gaseous Xenon
Abstract
The near-infrared (NIR) scintillation signal of xenon has the potential to enhance the performance of xenon-based detectors, but a robust understanding of its properties is a prerequisite for its application. In this work, we measure the NIR time response for α-particle interactions in gaseous xenon in 12 wavelength bands spanning approximately (950−1620)nm. The time response is decomposed into a fast (ns-scale) component and a dominant slow (μs-scale) component. The fast-component spectrum coincides with strong atomic emission lines, predominantly 6p→6s, whereas the slow-component spectrum follows the broad continuum centred around 1.3 μm. The pressure dependence of the continuum can be described by a two-step kinetic model in which the emitting state is formed by a three-body process and depopulated by a two-body collisional process, with density-independent terms in both rates. Interpreting the slower of these as radiative decay yields an intrinsic lifetime of ∼3 μs. Theoretical calculations identify a neutral-excimer transition 0u- → 0g- and an ionic-dimer transition 1/2u → 1/2g as plausible candidates for the continuum emission, with the ionic-dimer transition showing better overall agreement with the measurements.
Related
- Dual-band scanned-wavelength infrared laser-induced fluorescence of CO with time-domain modeling for 1 kHz thermometry
- Rapid Determination of Soybean Protein Content by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled with Multi-Learner Ensemble Wavelength Selection
- Short Wavelength Infrared Diimmonium Nano-Agents for Photoacoustic Imaging
- Solvent-Controlled Product Branching in Riboflavin Uncovered by Time-Resolved Infrared and Transient Absorption Spectroscopy.
- Fast-Neutron Scintillation with Multi-Quantum-Well 2D Perovskites
BibTeX
@misc{hammann2026wavelengthresolved,
title = {{Wavelength-Resolved Timing of Near-Infrared Scintillation in Gaseous Xenon}},
author = {Robert Hammann and Steffen Form and Humaira Nazneen and Gabriel Schöpfer and Milan Ončák and Teresa Marrodán Undagoitia},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.10161},
eprint = {2610.10161},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10161},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Wavelength-Resolved Timing of Near-Infrared Scintillation in Gaseous Xenon
AU - Robert Hammann
AU - Steffen Form
AU - Humaira Nazneen
AU - Gabriel Schöpfer
AU - Milan Ončák
AU - Teresa Marrodán Undagoitia
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.10161
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10161
AB - The near-infrared (NIR) scintillation signal of xenon has the potential to enhance the performance of xenon-based detectors, but a robust understanding of its properties is a prerequisite for its application. In this work, we measure the NIR time response for α-particle interactions in gaseous xenon in 12 wavelength bands spanning approximately (950−1620)nm. The time response is decomposed into a fast (ns-scale) component and a dominant slow (μs-scale) component. The fast-component spectrum coincides with strong atomic emission lines, predominantly 6p→6s, whereas the slow-component spectrum follows the broad continuum centred around 1.3 μm. The pressure dependence of the continuum can be described by a two-step kinetic model in which the emitting state is formed by a three-body process and depopulated by a two-body collisional process, with density-independent terms in both rates. Interpreting the slower of these as radiative decay yields an intrinsic lifetime of ∼3 μs. Theoretical calculations identify a neutral-excimer transition 0_u^- → 0_g^- and an ionic-dimer transition 1/2_u → 1/2_g as plausible candidates for the continuum emission, with the ionic-dimer transition showing better overall agreement with the measurements.
ER -