The need for precise characterization of dual-phase xenon detectors has grown as the technology has matured into a state of high efficacy for rare event searches. The Michigan Xenon detector was constructed to study the microphysics of particle inter
actions in liquid xenon across a large energy range in an effort to probe aspects of radiation detection in liquid xenon. We report the design and performance of a small 3D position sensitive dual-phase liquid xenon time projection chamber with high light yield ($L_y^{122}=15.2 $pe/keV at zero field), long electron lifetime ($tau > 200 mu$s), and excellent energy resolution ($sigma/E = 1%$ for 1,333 keV gamma rays in a drift field of 200 V/cm). Liquid xenon time projection chambers with such high energy resolution may find applications not only in dark matter direct detection searches, but also in neutrinoless double beta decay experiments and other applications.
Solenoid Siberian snakes have successfully maintained polarization in particle rings below 1 GeV, but never in multi-GeV rings because the Lorentz contraction of a solenoids integral B dl would require impractically long high-field solenoids. High en
ergy rings, such as Brookhavens 255 GeV Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), use only odd multiples of pairs of transverse B-field Siberian snakes directly opposite each other. When it became impractical to use a pair of Siberian Snakes in Fermilabs 120 GeV Main Injector, we searched for a new type of single Siberian snake, which should overcome all depolarizing resonances in the 8.9 - 120 GeV range. We found that one snake made of one 4-twist helix and 2 short dipoles could maintain the polarization. This snake design might also be used at other rings, such as Japans 30 GeV J-PARC, the 12 - 24 GeV NICA proton-deuteron collider at JINR-Dubna, and perhaps RHICs injector, the 25 GeV AGS.
A detailed study of reciprocity failure in four 1.7 micron cutoff HgCdTe near-infrared detectors is presented. The sensitivity to reciprocity failure is approximately 0.1%decade over up to five orders of magnitude in illumination intensity. The four
detectors, which represent three successive production runs with modified growth recipes, show large differences in amount and spatial structure of reciprocity failure. Reciprocity failure could be reduced to negligible levels by cooling the detectors to about 110 K. No wavelength dependence was observed. The observed spatial structure appears to be weakly correlated with image persistence.
Flux dependent non-linearity (reciprocity failure) in HgCdTe near infrared detectors can severely impact an instruments performance, in particular with respect to precision photometric measurements. The cause of this effect is presently not understoo
d. To investigate reciprocity failure, a dedicated test system was built. For flux levels between 1 and 50,000 photons/s, a sensitivity to reciprocity failure of approximately 0.1%/decade was achieved. A wavelength independent non-linearity due to reciprocity failure of about 0.35%/decade was measured in a 1.7 micron HgCdTe detector.
