Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2018
Volume 63, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 14–17, 2018; Columbus, Ohio
Session K09: The Future of Direct Dark Matter Detection |
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Sponsoring Units: DPF DNP Chair: Jodi Cooley, Southern Methodist University Room: A111 |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 3:30PM - 3:42PM |
K09.00001: Progress Towards a Sub-GeV Dark Matter Search Using Superfluid Helium-4 Andreas Biekert, Scott Hertel, Junsong Lin, Vetri Velan, Daniel McKinsey Weakly interacting dark matter direct detection experiments are rapidly approaching sensitivity levels where neutrino scattering background events will overwhelm any potential signal in the 10-100 GeV dark matter mass range. Since no experiment has provided conclusive evidence of dark matter in this mass range--and with its accessible parameter space shrinking--new models of sub-GeV dark matter have generated interest. We present a detector design based on superfluid helium to probe low-mass weakly interacting dark matter parameter space. Our proposed designs reads out energy from recoils in the helium by detecting atoms ejected from the superfluid surface by roton and phonon excitations. These helium atoms are detected by surface binding to bolometry suspended in the vacuum above the detector mass, which also amplifies the signal energy. To discriminate event types, bolometers submerged in the liquid helium detect scintillation photons from recoil events. In this talk we present simulation work predicting the sensitivity of this detector concept to new areas of low-mass parameter space and progress with experimental neutron scattering efforts to characterize helium scintillation in nuclear recoil events. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 3:42PM - 3:54PM |
K09.00002: Right-Side-Up Bubble Chambers: The Future of PICO Dark Matter Searches Matthew Bressler The PICO Collaboration, and its predecessor COUPP, have been operating superheated dark matter searches in the form of bubble chambers for more than a decade and presently provide world-leading limits for spin-dependent dark matter. However, an unexpected class of background events observed during that time have led to the redesign of the detectors, which will now be implemented in the “Right-Side-Up” orientation, eliminating the need for an inactive buffer fluid and thus any liquid-liquid interface in the apparatus, believed to be the cause of the anomalous background. PICO-40L, which will be the collaboration's first dark matter search using the right-side-up design, is set to start data collection at SNOLAB later in 2018 and is expected to show a factor of 6 improvement over the 2017 PICO-60 result. Drexel University’s PICO group has built and operated a right-side-up bubble chamber, demonstrating the efficacy of the design. The progress made testing the Drexel bubble chamber and designing the PICO-40L detector give the collaboration confidence in the chosen design and instrumentation. Work has also started on the design of PICO-500, a ton-scale detector to follow PICO-40L. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 3:54PM - 4:06PM |
K09.00003: Snowball Chamber: a Super-cooled Approach to Dark Matter Detection Corwin Knight, Matthew Szydagis, Cecilia Levy As higher mass particles are eliminated as possibilities in the search for dark matter, it is important to explore new types of detectors that are more specialized at looking for lower mass particles. For this purpose, I've been exploring super-cooled water as a target material for future detectors. This talk~will go over the motivations for a detector of this type, the preliminary evidence that has been collected, and additional applications beyond searching for dark matter. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 4:06PM - 4:18PM |
K09.00004: Particle Detection with Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dots Joshua Martin, Matthew Szydagis Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dots are small semi-conductor particles, only several nanometers in size. Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dots will emit light of specific frequencies if light is applied to them, and these frequencies are dependent on the dots' size. But would they also emit light if a neutrino or neutron, were to pass through it? In this experiment we attempt to figure out if Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dots can serve as a neutron, neutrino, or gamma detector. If so, this could lead to the creation of a detector that can easily reconstruct the energy of neutron events in water. This could possibly~aid in the detection of dark matter. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 4:18PM - 4:30PM |
K09.00005: A Prototype Directional Dark Matter Detector Thomas Thorpe As direct dark matter detectors become larger, and gain sensitivity, they will start detecting neutrinos via coherent scattering with their target nuclei. The most powerful way to discriminate neutrino from dark matter scattering, amongst other backgrounds, is to measure the direction of the nuclear recoils and use this information to reconstruct the source location, a so-called directional detector. As part of the CYGNUS collaboration, which is aimed at constructing large directional detectors, our group is operating a small prototype. The prototype is a Negative Ion Time Projection Chamber (NITPC) with GEM amplification and, eventually, HD pixel readout will be installed. Such a design would allow for 3-D tracking with powerful background suppression and could serve as ``unit-cell'' for a large, future, directional detector. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 4:30PM - 4:42PM |
K09.00006: Negative Ion Drift TPC development for directional dark matter detection Catherine Nicoloff, James Battat Low-pressure gas time projection chambers (TPCs) have a successful history in directional dark matter (DDM) searches. The benefit of the low-pressure gas target is that the nuclear recoils from dark matter extend several millimeters, long enough to be reliably reconstructed. The low-density target requires an optimization of the detector's WIMP sensitivity per unit volume. The DRIFT collaboration (Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks) employs a MWPC-based negative-ion TPC for DDM detection. DRIFT holds the leading limit from a directional detector on the spin-dependent WIMP-proton interaction. Although the effective spatial granularity along the drift direction is 60 $\mu$m (via timing), the MWPC wire spacing of 2 mm limits the tracking resolution. Micro-patterned gas detectors should enhance the detector sensitivity, both through higher gas amplification, and by higher spatial resolution tracking. Here, we report on the use of a Micromegas with orthogonal strip readout. We have demonstrated proportional amplification in the negative-ion drift gas SF$_6$. In collaboration with a group from Kobe University and KEK in Japan, we have also demonstrated particle tracking in this detector. We will describe the detector design, and present preliminary commissioning data. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 4:42PM - 4:54PM |
K09.00007: Status of the COSINE-100 Experiment Jay Hyun Jo COSINE-100 is a dark matter direct detection experiment using low-background NaI(Tl) crystals to test the DAMA collaboration’s claimed detection of the dark matter annual modulation. The first phase of the experiment, situated at Yangyang Underground Laboratory in South Korea, consists of 8 NaI(Tl) crystals with a total mass of 106 kg and 2000 L of liquid scintillator as an active veto. The physics run of the experiment began in September 2016. The current status of the COSINE-100 experiment will be presented including the experimental design, detector installation, and the initial performance of the experiment. The most recent development of physics analyses, including the WIMP cross-section measurement and annual modulation analysis, will also be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 4:54PM - 5:06PM |
K09.00008: Cosmogenically Activated Backgrounds of the COSINE-100 Experiment Estella Barbosa de Souza The COSINE-100 experiment is a NaI(Tl) dark matter direct detection experiment, with the goal of testing DAMA’s claim of dark matter detection by looking for an annual modulation signal. It has 8 NaI(Tl) crystals, adding to a total of 106 kg, and 2000 liters of a liquid scintillator veto. Located at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory, South Korea, COSINE-100 has been running since September 2016. The search for the annual modulation signal requires a complete understanding of the background signal and its time dependence. This can be achieved by conducting a complete simulation and modeling of the detector’s background, in addition to the investigation of the cosmogenic activation history of the crystals. In this talk, I will present the study of the COSINE-100 cosmogenically activated backgrounds. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 15, 2018 5:06PM - 5:18PM |
K09.00009: The Monitoring System and Detector Stability of COSINE-100 William Thompson \mbox{COSINE-100} is a direct detection dark matter experiment consisting of 106 kg of low-background NaI(Tl) crystal detectors located at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory in South Korea. One of the primary physics goals of \mbox{COSINE-100} is to search for a WIMP-induced annual modulation signal to confirm or refute \mbox{DAMA/LIBRA's} claim of dark matter discovery. The search for an annual modulation signal requires a thorough understanding of time-dependent environmental effects and a high degree of detector stability. To achieve the required level of stability, \mbox{COSINE-100} has developed a monitoring system to measure operating conditions, such as temperature, radon levels, and muon rates, over time. Here, I will present the \mbox{COSINE-100} monitoring system and discuss the achieved stability of the \mbox{COSINE-100} detector. [Preview Abstract] |
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