Bulletin of the American Physical Society
19th Annual Meeting of the APS Northwest Section
Volume 63, Number 6
Thursday–Saturday, May 31–June 2 2018; Tacoma, Washington
Session B3: Particle Physics |
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Chair: David Latimer, University of Puget Sound Room: Thompson Hall 391 |
Friday, June 1, 2018 1:30PM - 2:00PM |
B3.00001: Huge bound states of dark matter? Invited Speaker: Moira Gresham An attractive force in an asymmetric dark matter (ADM) sector can lead to ADM bound states of very large size, called nuggets. I'll discuss the nuclear structure of such ADM nuggets and their synthesis in the early Universe, along with astrophysical constraints on this scenario. ADM nuggets represent a qualitatively new sort of dark matter candidate: they lead to a broad dark matter mass function, and their proclivity for cold fusion dramatically affects the character of dark matter self interactions. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, June 1, 2018 2:00PM - 2:30PM |
B3.00002: The Search for Light Dark Matter with DAMIC Invited Speaker: Pitam Mitra Millimeter-thick charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are outstanding particle detectors. Although initially developed for near-infrared astronomy, the low pixel noise also makes them the most sensitive detectors to signals from ionizing radiation. By virtue of their very low energy threshold (<100 eV of ionizing energy) and their unique capabilities for background characterization based on their high spatial resolution, CCDs are poised to become the leading technology in the search for a wide variety of dark matter candidates with masses in the range 1 eV–10 GeV. I will present the status of the completed seven-CCD array of DAMIC at SNOLAB and the recent progress toward DAMIC at Modane (DAMIC-M), a lower-background 1-kg CCD dark matter detector with an ionization threshold of 2 electrons. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, June 1, 2018 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
B3.00003: Estimating the Cosmic-ray Exposure of SuperCDMS detectors Ashley Brooks, John Orrell The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) experiment at SNOLAB will use detectors instrumented with phonon and ionization sensors to attempt to measure the recoil energy imparted to Ge and Si nuclei due to collisions of dark matter particles. During fabrication and shipment, the detectors are exposed to cosmic-ray secondaries that collide with the Ge and Si nuclei and through spallation create radioisotopes within the detector crystals. A particular isotope of concern is tritium which has a 12-year half-life and creates a background that diminishes the detectors' sensitivity to dark matter interactions. To estimate the cosmic-ray exposure of the crystals along shipment routes and to select future routes with minimum cosmic-ray exposure, a MATLAB program was created taking into account geographical location, duration of route, driver rest period (sleeping, refueling, etc.) , and elevation. To further understand the cosmic-ray exposure of the detectors, a calculation was reviewed to determine the overburden shielding provided by the Stanford Underground Facility, a shallow underground location used to protect the crystals from cosmic rays during detector fabrication. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, June 1, 2018 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
B3.00004: Quasi-elastic-like anti-neutrino production at MINERvA Heidi Schellman Next-generation neutrino oscillation experiments, such as DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande, hope to measure charge-parity (CP) violation in the lepton sector. In order to do this, they must dramatically reduce their current levels of uncertainty, particularly those due to neutrino-nucleus interaction models. As CP violation is a measure of the difference between the oscillation properties of neutrinos and antineutrinos, data about how the less-studied antineutrinos interact is especially valuable. We present the MINERvA experiment's first double-differential scattering cross sections for antineutrinos on scintillator, in the few-GeV range relevant to experiments such as DUNE and NovA. We also present total antineutrino-scintillator quasi-elastic cross sections as a function of energy, which we compare to measurements from previous experiments. As well as being useful to help reduce oscillation experiments' uncertainty, our data can also be used to study the prevalence of various correlation and final-state interaction effects within the nucleus. We compare to models produced by different model generators, and are able to draw first conclusions about the predictions of these models. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, June 1, 2018 2:54PM - 3:06PM |
B3.00005: Extending the ADMX QCD Dark-Matter Axion Search to Higher Masses Raphael Cervantes Axions are hypothetical particles that, if they exist, would solve both the strong CP problem and the dark matter problem. Axions in our local dark matter halo could be detected using an apparatus consisting of a resonant microwave cavity threaded by a strong magnetic field. The ADMX experiment has recently used this technique to search for axions in the few $\mu eV/c^2$ mass range. However, the ADMX search technique becomes increasingly challenging with increasing axion mass. This is because higher masses require smaller-diameter cavities, and a smaller cavity volume reduces the signal strength. Thus, there is interest in developing more sophisticated resonators to overcome this problem. We present the progress of the ADMX Orpheus prototype experiment. This uses a dielectric-loaded Fabry-Perot resonator to search for axion-like particles with masses approaching 100 $\mu eV/c^2$. [Preview Abstract] |
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