SuperCDMS SNOLAB: Calibration, Commissioning, and Beyond

SuperCDMS SNOLAB：校准、调试及其他

• 批准号: 1708153
• 负责人: Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano
• 金额: $ 11.25万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1708153&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SuperCDMS; SNOLAB; Calibration; Commissioning; Beyond; SuperCDMS; SNOLAB; Calibration; Commissioning; Beyond

Multiple astronomical observations have established that about 85% of the matter in the universe is not made of normal atoms, but must be otherwise undetected elementary "dark matter" particles that do not emit or absorb light. Deciphering the nature of this so-called Dark Matter is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics, and high-energy particle physics. A leading hypothesis is that it is comprised of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs, that were produced moments after the Big Bang. If WIMPs are the dark matter, then their presence in our galaxy may be detectable via scattering from atomic nuclei in detectors located deep underground to help reject backgrounds due to cosmic rays. Direct detection of WIMP dark matter would solve a fundamental mystery in particle physics and cosmology, providing a unique window to learning about the primary matter constituent of the Universe and of physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. This award will support students and scientists working on the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment that aims to achieve world-leading sensitivity for dark matter searches in the 1-10 GeV/c2 mass range.The SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment will have a broad impact which extends beyond the search for dark matter. The experimental and R&D efforts further advance phonon-mediated detectors and new active veto concepts, which can have applications in cosmology, astronomy and industry. This effort will contribute to the training of undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, continuing the group?s strong involvement in mentoring undergraduates from underrepresented groups by participating in the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP), which brings undergraduates from across the U.S. to do a summer of research at Northwestern. This award has the following objectives: (1) to measure a dark matter signal or place world-leading limits for the WIMP-nucleon cross section at masses below 10 GeV/c2 by analyzing the electron-recoiling dark matter candidates from the existing SuperCDMS Soudan data; (2) to performance test the first production SuperCDMS SNOLAB detectors at the CUTE test facility in SNOLAB; and (3) to play a central role in the pre-operations and commissioning of the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment. This award will focus on the calibration of the nuclear energy scale, which is a measurement which is essential to obtain science from SuperCDMS SNOLAB. The nuclear energy scale will be measured in a dedicated testing campaign using both high resolution ionization yield measurements using small R&D detectors at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) neutron beam facility, and full-size SuperCDMS SNOLAB detectors at the new NEXUS (Northwestern Experimental Underground Site) at Fermilab.

多次天文观察结果表明，宇宙中约有85％的物质不是正常原子制成的，但必须是未发现的基本“暗物质”颗粒，这些颗粒不会发出或吸收光。破译这种所谓的暗物质的性质对于宇宙学，天体物理学和高能粒子物理学至关重要。一个主要的假设是，它由弱相互作用的巨大颗粒或wimps组成，这些颗粒或wimps是在大爆炸后瞬间产生的。如果wimps是暗物质，那么它们在我们的星系中的存在可能可以通过从原子核中散射到地下深地下的探测器中来检测到，以帮助拒绝由于宇宙射线而引起的背景。直接检测WIMP暗物质将解决粒子物理和宇宙学上的基本神秘，为学习宇宙的主要物质和物理学的主要物理成分提供了独特的窗口，而不是粒子物理学的标准模型。该奖项将支持从事SuperCDMS Snolab实验的学生和科学家，旨在在1-10 GEV/C2质量范围内实现对暗物质搜索的敏感性。SuperCDMSSnolab实验将产生广泛的影响，超越了搜索暗物质。实验和研发工作进一步提高了声子介导的探测器以及新的活跃否决概念，这些概念可以在宇宙学，天文学和工业中应用。这项努力将有助于对本科生和研究生和博士后研究人员的培训，从而通过参与夏季研究机会计划（SROP）来促进该小组的强烈参与指导来自代表性不足的团体的本科生，这使美国各地的本科生从美国进行了夏季研究。该奖项具有以下目标：（1）通过分析现有的SuperCDMS Soudan数据的电子恢复的候选电子候选，以低于10 GEV/C2的WIMP-NUCLEON横截面的暗物质信号或位置世界领先的限制； （2）绩效测试Snolab可爱测试设施的首次生产SuperCDMS Snolab探测器； （3）在SuperCDMS Snolab实验的前操作和调试中发挥核心作用。该奖项将集中于核能量表的校准，这是从SuperCDMS Snolab获得科学至关重要的测量。核能量表将在专门的测试活动中使用高分辨率电离产量测量测量，使用三角大学核实验室（TUNL）中子束设施的小型R＆D检测器，以及在Fermilab的新Nexus（NorthWestern实验地下地下现场）的全尺寸SuperCDMS SnoLAB Snectors。