Is DAMA Bathing in a Sea of Radioactive Argon?

Understand

A hypothesis is proposed to explain the long-standing DAMA/LIBRA puzzle.

• Introduced into the DAMA/LIBRA shielding is a purge gas of nominally high-purity nitrogen, which under this hypothesis contains argon impurities.
• Argon is introduced into the nitrogen purge gas either through leaks in the purge gas plumbing, or through commercially-supplied bottled nitrogen, diffuses through materials in the detector housings, and then comes in direct contact with the DAMA/LIBRA detectors.
• These argon impurities can then lead to a modulating 2.8 keV background under two scenarios.