Experimental searches for dark matter include experiments with sub-0.5 keV-energy threshold high purity germanium detectors. Experimental efforts, in partnership with the CoGeNT Collaboration operating at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, are focusing on energy threshold reduction via noise abatement, reduction of backgrounds from cosmic ray generated isotopes, and ubiquitous environmental radioactive sources. The most significant cosmic ray produced radionuclide is 68Ge. This paper evaluates reducing this background by freshly mining and processing germanium ore. The most probable outcome is a reduction of the background by a factor of two, and at most a factor of four. A very cost effective alternative is to obtain processed Ge as soon as possible and store it underground for 18 months.
Revised: January 10, 2012 |
Published: March 1, 2011