Crab trap, surface lab preparing for LZ

A simple steel frame dubbed ?the South Dakota crab trap? recently made a successful trip down the Yates Shaft, slung under the cage, to the 4,850-foot level. The descent was part of research and development for the proposed LUX ZEPLIN (LZ)* experiment. 

LZ is the second-generation dark matter detector that would replace the LUX detector in the 72,000-gallon water tank currently installed in the Davis Campus. LUX is using about a third of a metric tonne of liquid xenon to detect dark matter particles. LZ will use 7 tonnes of  xenon. That upgrade will be further enhanced by a clear-acrylic tank filled with a liquid organic scintillator, which will surround the LZ detector to better veto unwanted signals. The crab trap is a cheap stunt double for one of the four sections of the clear-acrylic tank.

The trek to the 4850 Level on July 30 was to make sure the crab trap would fit through a pinch point in the Davis Campus. It did.

Also in preparation for LZ, the surface laboratory, where LUX was assembled, has been cleaned up for its next tenants, thanks to interns and members of the LUX and Majorana Demonstrator collaborations.

*LZ is combination two existing experiments. LUX stands for ?Large Underground Xenon.? ZEPLIN stands for (loosely interpreted) ?zoned proportional scintillation in liquid noble gases.?