Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 1
Saturday–Tuesday, January 28–31, 2017; Washington, DC
Session C9: Dark Matter: R&D and New Directions |
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: DPF Chair: Josh Klein, University of Pennsylvania Room: Roosevelt 1 |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
C9.00001: A Micromegas-based Directional Dark Matter Detector for Use with Negative Ion Gases Catherine Nicoloff, James Battat Directional dark matter detectors seek to measure the direction of WIMP-induced nuclear recoils. The angular distribution of these recoils provides a unique signature that is not mimicked by any known background population. Low-pressure gas time projection chambers (TPCs) have a long and successful history in directional dark matter searches. The benefit of the low-pressure gas target is that nuclear recoils from dark matter extend long enough to be reliably reconstructed. For the last decade, the DRIFT collaboration has employed a MWPC-based negative-ion TPC for directional dark matter detection. DRIFT recently published the leading limit from a directional detector on the spin-dependent WIMP-proton interaction (1.1 pb at a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c$^{\mathrm{2}})$. Although the effective spatial granularity along the drift direction is 60 um, the MWPC wire spacing of 2 mm limits DRIFT's track reconstruction. DRIFT is now exploring TPC readouts that offer higher spatial resolution. Here, we report on one such effort that uses a Micromegas for gas amplification with orthogonal strips for charge signal readout. The detector can be used with both electron drift and negative ion gases. We will describe the detector design and present preliminary commissioning data taken in a surface laboratory. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
C9.00002: Modeling Electronegative Impurity Concentrations in Liquid Argon Detectors Wei Tang, Yichen Li, Craig Thorn, Xin Qian Achieving long electron lifetime is crucial to reach the high performance of large Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) envisioned for next generation neutrino experiments. We have built up a quantitative model to describe the impurity distribution and transportation in a cryostat. Henrys constants of Oxygen and water, which describe the partition of impurities between gas argon and liquid argon, have been deduced through this model with the measurements in BNL 20-L LAr test stand. These results indicate the importance of the gas purification system and prospects on large LArTPC detectors will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
C9.00003: Investigating noble gas mixtures for use in TPCs Anna Jungbluth MITPC is a gas-based time projection chamber used for detecting fast, MeV-scale neutrons. MITPC relies on a CCD camera and the TPC (time projection chamber) technique to visualize and reconstruct tracks of neutron-induced nuclear recoils within a chosen gas. The standard version of the detector uses a mixture of 600 torr gas composed of 87.5 \% helium-4 and and 12.5 \% tetrafluoromethane (CF4) for precise measurements of the energy and direction of neutron-induced nuclear recoils. Previous studies demonstrated advantages of using neon as a replacement gas for helium-4. This talk will present a discussion of studies performed with helium and neon, as well as argon and krypton as primary neutron targets in the gas mixture with CF4. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
C9.00004: ALPS: the Dark Matter Generator (coming in 2019) Simon Barke, Zachary Bush, Claire Baum, Hal Hollis, Guido Mueller, David Tanner Very promising dark matter candidates are axion-like particles: sub-eV particles that are expected to (weakly) interact with photons in the presence of a static electric or magnetic field. This interaction can turn photons into axions and back into photons. Hence, in order to generate axions, we will set up a 100 meter long Fabry-Perot cavity that can hold a $\approx$ 150,000 watt laser field and have a 5.3 tesla magnetic field along the entire length. If the theory holds up, a fraction of the photons should transform into relativistic axions. These axions would then propagate through any optical barrier and enter a matched cavity that is situated within an identical magnetic field. Here, some of the axions should turn back into photons of equal energy. Thus these photons resonate in the otherwise empty cavity where they can be detected. It is unknown if axion-like particles exist in the targeted mass range. However, the ALPS detection principle is very convenient because we will know the exact energy of the regenerated photons beforehand thus making a detection much easier.The final stage of the ALPS experiment will be completed by 2019 at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) site in Hamburg, Germany. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
C9.00005: Producing 30 Tons of Underground Argon for the Next Generation Dark Matter Detector Thomas Alexander The DarkSide-20k experiment seeks to collect and purify 10s of tons of argon gas derived from the Doe Canyon $CO_{2}$ well in southwestern Colorado, which has been shown to have a $^{39}Ar$ concentration of 0.73\% of that found in argon collected from the atmosphere. Building upon the work of the DarkSide-50 collaboration, the DarkSide-20k experiment is building and installing a plant capable of producing 100 kg/day of 99.9\% pure argon from the same underground source. To achieve this rate, the next generation plant (named Urania) will need to be able to mitigate minor contaminants in the well gas that hampered the previous generation plant. In this talk we will describe the new extraction plant, the identification of the minor contaminates, and how these contaminates are being mitigated. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
C9.00006: A Comparison of Future Dark Matter Searches Jeffrey Hutchinson, Kara Farnsworth, James Deseno, Anthony Grippo, Shane Masse We analyze the projected limits from current and upcoming direct detection, indirect detection and future collider searches in the context of minimal extensions to the standard model with thermal relic dark matter. These models contain a singlet dark matter particle with cubic renormalizable couplings between quarks and "partner" particles with the same gauge quantum numbers as quarks. Within this framework, we consider six models where the dark matter is a scalar boson, fermion, or vector boson, and may or may not be its own antiparticle. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
C9.00007: Nuclear recoil measurements with the ARIS experiment Alden Fan As direct dark matter searches become increasingly sensitive, it is important to fully characterize the target of the search. The goal of the Argon Recoil Ionization and Scintillation (ARIS) experiment is to quantify information related to the scintillation and ionization energy scale, quenching factor, ion recombination probability, and scintillation time response of nuclear recoils, as expected from WIMPs, in liquid argon. A time projection chamber with an active mass of 0.5~kg of liquid argon and capable of full 3D position reconstruction was exposed to an inverse kinematic neutron beam at the Institut de Physique Nucleaire d’Orsay in France. A scan of nuclear recoil energies was performed through coincidence with a set of neutron detectors to quantify properties of nuclear recoils in liquid argon at various electric fields. The difference in ionization and scintillation response with differing recoil track angle to the electric field was also studied. The preliminary results of the experiment will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 2:54PM - 3:06PM |
C9.00008: PICO Bubble Chambers for Dark Matter Searches: Future Prospects Russell Neilson The PICO collaboration uses bubble chambers to search for WIMP dark matter particles. The bubble chambers are operated in a moderately superheated state, providing superb rejection of the dominant gamma background, and are filled with fluorinated target fluids ideally suited for investigating spin-dependent WIMP-proton interactions. PICO currently operates a 2-liter (PICO-2L) and a 32-liter (PICO-60) bubble chamber at the SNOLAB deep underground laboratory. I will discuss recent activities by the PICO collaboration to understand and mitigate an anomalous background that has impacted previous dark matter searches, plans for the operating experiments, and prospects for a future ton-scale PICO bubble chamber. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 3:06PM - 3:18PM |
C9.00009: The MiniCLEAN Experiment Jui-Jen (Ryan) Wang, Michael Gold The MiniCLEAN (Cryogenic Low-Energy Astrophysics with Noble liquid) dark matter experiment will exploit a single-phase liquid argon detector instrumented with 92 photomultiplier tubes placed in the cryogen with 4-$\pi$ coverage of a 500 kg (150 kg) target (fiducial) mass. The detector design strategy emphasizes scalability to target masses of order 10 tons or more. It is designed also for a liquid neon target that allows for an independent verification of signal and background and a test of the expected dependence of the WIMP-nucleus interaction rate. For MiniCLEAN, PMT stability and calibration are essential. The Light-Emitting Diode (LED) based light injection system provide single photon for the calibration which can be performed in near real-time, providing a continuous monitor on the condition of the detector. This talk will summarize the status of detector and upcoming commissioning at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700