The latest result from XENON100 on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon interactions, derived from 225 live days of data taking, is among the 20 most-cited particle physics papers of the year 2013. According to the new summary of INSPIRE, the high energy physics information system, our result from 2012, published in Physical Review Letters, is the only dark matter-related paper in the top 40, and is surrounded by high-impact results from ATLAS, CMS, Planck, WMAP, Daya Bay, etc.
The XENON1T is shielded from ambient radioactivity by a large water tank that is equipped as a muon veto. The tank has a diameter of 10 meters and is 10 meters high. It is constructed from top to bottom and went up in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory within less than a month:
All the xenon must somehow get to and from the detector through the water tank, as must signal and high voltage cables, various sensors, and we need large pipes to get a really good vacuum for cleaning the detector prior to filling. We use one large pipe for this lifeline of the detector, an aorta of sorts. Here is spokesperson Elena Aprile illustrating the huge scale of the XENON experiment.
Spokesperson Elena Aprile behind the opening in the water tank through which all connections to the detector will be made. Picture credit: The XENON Collaboration.