Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2020
Volume 65, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 2–6, 2020; Denver, Colorado
Session L10: Fundamental Measurement Science
8:00 AM–9:36 AM,
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Room: 108
Sponsoring
Unit:
GIMS
Chair: Joseph Hagmann, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Abstract: L10.00006 : Progress on the Detection of Single Free Helium Atoms through Field Ionization for a Dark Matter Detector*
Presenter:
David Osterman
(Physics, Brown University)
Authors:
David Osterman
(Physics, Brown University)
Humphrey J Maris
(Physics, Brown University)
George M Seidel
(Physics, Brown University)
Derek Stein
(Physics, Brown University)
We describe recent progress on the detection of free helium atoms by field ionization,
which is a key element of a new liquid helium-based method of dark matter detection
proposed by Maris, Seidel and Stein [1]. When a dark matter particle collides with a
liquid He atom it produces phonons and rotons which propagate through the superfluid,
eventually arriving at the surface. These excitations can then evaporate a He atom,
which can then be detected through field ionization, the process of ionizing them in a
strong electric field using sharp, metal nanotips. The ability of field ionization to detect
even a single helium atom, combined with the < 1 meV binding energy of a He atom to
the superfluid surface, could potentially allow for the detection of dark matter particles
with masses down to 1 MeV/c2.
*NASA EPScOR RID: NNX15AK52A
NASA RI Space Grant: NNX15AI06H
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