Estimating LUX-ZEPLIN's Sensitivity to Sub-GeV Dark Matter Scattering Off Electrons in Xenon PDF Download

Author: Gus Eberlein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Comprising 85% of the mass of the universe, dark matter is one of the most pressing outstanding questions of physics. When it comes to directly detecting dark matter, the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment has unparalleled sensitivity. We examine the detector's capability to detect sub-GeV dark matter scattering off the electrons in xenon, LZ's scintillation medium. We develop a signal model by calculating the expected DM-electron event rates as a function of electron recoil energy and as a function of the number of freed electrons. Alongside an established backgrounds model, this signal model is used to simulate events in the LZ detector. With this simulated data and a cut-and-count analysis, we are able to estimate cross sections of dark matter-electron scattering down to which LZ can detect the signal over the background. We find that LUX-ZEPLIN will be able to detect certain light dark matter models at a much greater sensitivity than previous direct detection experiments.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range is a theoretically motivated but largely unexplored paradigm. Such light masses are out of reach for conventional nuclear recoil direct detection experiments, but may be detected through the small ionization signals caused by dark matter-electron scattering. Semiconductors are well-studied and are particularly promising target materials because their O(1 eV) band gaps allow for ionization signals from dark matter particles as light as a few hundred keV. Current direct detection technologies are being adapted for dark matter-electron scattering. In this paper, we provide the theoretical calculations for dark matter-electron scattering rate in semiconductors, overcoming several complications that stem from the many-body nature of the problem. We use density functional theory to numerically calculate the rates for dark matter-electron scattering in silicon and germanium, and estimate the sensitivity for upcoming experiments such as DAMIC and SuperCDMS. We find that the reach for these upcoming experiments has the potential to be orders of magnitude beyond current direct detection constraints and that sub-GeV dark matter has a sizable modulation signal. We also give the first direct detection limits on sub-GeV dark matter from its scattering off electrons in a semiconductor target (silicon) based on published results from DAMIC. We make available publicly our code, QEdark, with which we calculate our results. Our results can be used by experimental collaborations to calculate their own sensitivities based on their specific setup. In conclusion, the searches we propose will probe vast new regions of unexplored dark matter model and parameter space.

Author: Brian Gregory Lenardo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780438289567
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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This dissertation focuses on the characterization of xenon as a detection medium for low energy particle physics. In particular, there are two signals that we are interested in exploring: the interactions of WIMP dark matter inside an earth-bound detector, and the coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off of nuclei. Both are predicted to produce low energy (10−1--102 keV) nuclear recoils, which can be measured in a low-threshold detector. One well-established technique for measuring these signals is the dual-phase xenon emission detector, which measures primary scintillation light and electroluminescence from ionized electrons to reconstruct information about each interaction inside the target volume. To understand the data produced in an experiment, one must understand how the scintillation and ionization signals relate to the incident particle type and energy deposited. Calibrating the response of the detector medium is of crucial importance for both interpreting existing data and calculating the physics reach of current or future experiments. The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to provide a set of robust models of xenon ionization and scintillation emission which can can be used to calculate signals and simulate the response of liquid xenon detectors in experiments searching for low energy nuclear recoil signatures. In the work below, I begin with a detailed description of the physics of interest. Chapter 2 introduces the dual-phase xenon TPC and discuss its benefits for these types of experiments. In Chapter 3, we draw upon previous literature to develop a model of xenon scintillation and ionization yields. This model is fitted simultaneously to a compilation of available data to allow it to incorporate differences in operating conditions, such as applied electric field, across different experiments. Chapter 4 extends this modeling effort to work within the LUX collaboration, which operated a 300 kg liquid xenon TPC with world-leading sensitivity to dark matter WIMP interactions. LUX performed the lowest-energy nuclear recoil calibration measurements to date, allowing us to extend our model to lower energies and establishing the sensitivity of LUX to a broader range of WIMP models. Chapter 5 delves in greater detail into the time structure of scintillation in liquid xenon. We provide new data on scintillation pulse shapes for low energy nuclear recoils, and use the differences between electron- and nuclear-recoil pulse shapes to establish a new background discriminant for use in LUX data analysis. Finally, in Chapter 6 we describe an ongoing project at LLNL to provide new data of ionization yields at lower energies than the LUX measurements. These experiments will have direct implications on the sensitivity of liquid xenon detectors in general to both low-mass WIMPs and nuclear reactor neutrino scattering. Here we describe the development of the xenon detector system and the preliminary characterization and calibration work that was performed in preparation for the main experiments.

Author: Martin Bauer
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030162346
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Dark matter is a frequently discussed topic in contemporary particle physics. Written strictly in the language of particle physics and quantum field theory, these course-based lecture notes focus on a set of standard calculations that students need in order to understand weakly interacting dark matter candidates. After introducing some general features of these dark matter agents and their main competitors, the Higgs portal scalar and supersymmetric neutralinos are introduced as our default models. In turn, this serves as a basis for exploring four experimental aspects: the dark matter relic density extracted from the cosmic microwave background; indirect detection including the Fermi galactic center excess; direct detection; and collider searches. Alternative approaches, like an effective theory of dark matter and simplified models, naturally follow from the discussions of these four experimental directions.

Author: E. Bellotti
Publisher: IOS Press
ISBN: 1614990085
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Neutrino physics contributed in an fundamental way to the progress of science, opening important windows of knowledge in elementary particle physics, as well in astrophysics and cosmology. Substantial experimental efforts are presently dedicated to improve our knowledge on neutrino properties as, in fact, we don't know yet some of the basic ones. Although very significant steps forward have been done, neutrino masses and mixings still remain largely unknown and constitute an important field for future research. Are neutrinos Majorana or Dirac particles? Have they a magnetic moment? Historically, studies on weak processes and, therefore, on neutrino physics, provided first the Fermi theory of weak interactions and then the V-A theory. Finally, the observation of weak neutral currents provided the first experimental evidence for unification of weak and electromagnetic interactions by the so called "Standard Model' of elementary particles. In addition to the results obtained from the measurement of the solar neutrino flux, the study of atmospheric neutrinos strongly supports the hypothesis of neutrino oscillation among different flavours. At the same time, the detection of neutrinos emitted by our Sun gave an important confirmation that the Sun produces energy via a chain of nuclear reactions; in particular in our Sun a specific cycle - the hydrogen cycle - is responsible for practically all the produced energy.

Author: Alexander I Bolozdynya
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814470090
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
After decades of research and development, emission detectors have recently become the most successful instrumentation used in modern fundamental experiments searching for cold dark matter, and are also considered for neutrino coherent scattering and magnetic momentum neutrino measurement. This book is the first monograph exclusively dedicated to emission detectors. Properties of two-phase working media based on noble gases, saturated hydrocarbon, ion crystals and semiconductors are reviewed.

Author: Guido Altarelli
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3540449019
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Reviews the current state of knowledge of neutrino masses and the related question of neutrino oscillations. After an overview of the theory of neutrino masses and mixings, detailed accounts are given of the laboratory limits on neutrino masses, astrophysical and cosmological constraints on those masses, experimental results on neutrino oscillations, the theoretical interpretation of those results, and theoretical models of neutrino masses and mixings. The book concludes with an examination of the potential of long-baseline experiments. This is an essential reference text for workers in elementary-particle physics, nuclear physics, and astrophysics.

Author: Cosimo Bambi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662480786
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
This book introduces the basic concepts of particle cosmology and covers all the main aspects of the Big Bang Model (expansion of the Universe, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, Cosmic Microwave Background, large scale structures) and the search for new physics (inflation, baryogenesis, dark matter, dark energy). It also includes the majority of recent discoveries, such as the precise determination of cosmological parameters using experiments like WMAP and Planck, the discovery of the Higgs boson at LHC, the non-discovery to date of supersymmetric particles, and the search for the imprint of gravitational waves on the CMB polarization by Planck and BICEP. This textbook is based on the authors’ courses on Cosmology, and aims at introducing Particle Cosmology to senior undergraduate and graduate students. It has been especially written to be accessible even for those students who do not have a strong background in General Relativity and quantum field theory. The content of this book is organized in an easy-to-use style and students will find it a helpful research guide.

Author: Enrico Morgante
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319676067
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
This thesis covers several theoretical aspects of WIMP (weakly interacting massive particles) dark matter searches, with a particular emphasis on colliders. It mainly focuses on the use of effective field theories as a tool for Large Hadron Collider (LHC) searches, discussing in detail the issue of their validity, and on simplified dark matter models, which are receiving a growing attention from the physics community. It highlights the theoretical consistency of simplified models, which is essential in order to correctly exploit their potential and for them to be a common reference when comparing results from different experiments. This thesis is of interest to researchers (both theorists and experimentalists) in the field of dark matter searches, and offers a comprehensive introduction to dark matter and to WIMP searches for students and non-experts.

Author: Pauline Gagnon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198783248
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
CERN, the European Laboratory for particle physics, regularly makes the news. What kind of research happens at this international laboratory and how does it impact people's daily lives? Why is the discovery of the Higgs boson so important? Particle physics describes all matter found on Earth, in stars and all galaxies but it also tries to go beyond what is known to describe dark matter, a form of matter five times more prevalent than the known, regular matter. How do we know this mysterious dark matter exists and is there a chance it will be discovered soon? About sixty countries contributed to the construction of the gigantic Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and its immense detectors. Dive in to discover how international teams of researchers work together to push scientific knowledge forward. Here is a book written for every person who wishes to learn a little more about particle physics, without requiring prior scientific knowledge. It starts from the basics to build a solid understanding of current research in particle physics. A good dose of curiosity is all one will need to discover a whole world that spans from the infinitesimally small and stretches to the infinitely large, and where imminent discoveries could mark the dawn of a huge revolution in the current conception of the material world.