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Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 194
Book Description
Direct dark matter detection experiments usually have excellent capability to distinguish nuclear recoils, expected interactions with Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter, and electronic recoils, so that they can efficiently reject background events such as gamma-rays and charged particles. However, both WIMPs and neutrons can induce nuclear recoils. Neutrons are then the most crucial background for direct dark matter detection. It is important to understand and account for all sources of neutron backgrounds when claiming a discovery of dark matter detection or reporting limits on the WIMP-nucleon cross section. One type of neutron background that is not well understood is the cosmogenic neutrons from muons interacting with the underground cavern rock and materials surrounding a dark matter detector. The Neutron Multiplicity Meter (NMM) is a water Cherenkov detector capable of measuring the cosmogenic neutron flux at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, which has an overburden of 2090 meters water equivalent. The NMM consists of two 2.2-tonne gadolinium-doped water tanks situated atop a 20-tonne lead target. It detects a high-energy (>~ 50 MeV) neutron via moderation and capture of the multiple secondary neutrons released when the former interacts in the lead target. The multiplicity of secondary neutrons for the high-energy neutron provides a benchmark for comparison to the current Monte Carlo predictions. Combining with the Monte Carlo simulation, the muon-induced high-energy neutron flux above 50 MeV is measured to be (1.3 ± 0.2) ~ 10-9 cm-2s-1, in reasonable agreement with the model prediction. The measured multiplicity spectrum agrees well with that of Monte Carlo simulation for multiplicity below 10, but shows an excess of approximately a factor of three over Monte Carlo prediction for multiplicities ~ 10 - 20. In an effort to reduce neutron backgrounds for the dark matter experiment SuperCDMS SNO- LAB, an active neutron veto was developed. It is estimated that the current design of the neutron veto with a 40 cm thick layer of boron-doped liquid scintillator can achieve a> 90% efficiency for tagging the single-scatter neutrons. In addition, a one-quarter scale prototype detector for neutron veto has been built and tested.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 194
Book Description
Direct dark matter detection experiments usually have excellent capability to distinguish nuclear recoils, expected interactions with Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter, and electronic recoils, so that they can efficiently reject background events such as gamma-rays and charged particles. However, both WIMPs and neutrons can induce nuclear recoils. Neutrons are then the most crucial background for direct dark matter detection. It is important to understand and account for all sources of neutron backgrounds when claiming a discovery of dark matter detection or reporting limits on the WIMP-nucleon cross section. One type of neutron background that is not well understood is the cosmogenic neutrons from muons interacting with the underground cavern rock and materials surrounding a dark matter detector. The Neutron Multiplicity Meter (NMM) is a water Cherenkov detector capable of measuring the cosmogenic neutron flux at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, which has an overburden of 2090 meters water equivalent. The NMM consists of two 2.2-tonne gadolinium-doped water tanks situated atop a 20-tonne lead target. It detects a high-energy (>~ 50 MeV) neutron via moderation and capture of the multiple secondary neutrons released when the former interacts in the lead target. The multiplicity of secondary neutrons for the high-energy neutron provides a benchmark for comparison to the current Monte Carlo predictions. Combining with the Monte Carlo simulation, the muon-induced high-energy neutron flux above 50 MeV is measured to be (1.3 ± 0.2) ~ 10-9 cm-2s-1, in reasonable agreement with the model prediction. The measured multiplicity spectrum agrees well with that of Monte Carlo simulation for multiplicity below 10, but shows an excess of approximately a factor of three over Monte Carlo prediction for multiplicities ~ 10 - 20. In an effort to reduce neutron backgrounds for the dark matter experiment SuperCDMS SNO- LAB, an active neutron veto was developed. It is estimated that the current design of the neutron veto with a 40 cm thick layer of boron-doped liquid scintillator can achieve a> 90% efficiency for tagging the single-scatter neutrons. In addition, a one-quarter scale prototype detector for neutron veto has been built and tested.
Author: Holger Kluck Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3319185276 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 402
Book Description
The work presented in this book is a major step towards understanding and eventually suppressing background in the direct search for dark matter particles scattering off germanium detectors. Although the flux of cosmic muons is reduced by many orders of magnitude in underground laboratories, the remaining energetic muons induce neutrons through various processes, neutrons that can potentially mimic a dark matter signal. This thesis describes the measurement of muon-induced neutrons over more than 3 years in the Modane underground laboratory. The data are complemented by a thorough modeling of the neutron signal using the GEANT4 simulation package, demonstrating the appropriateness of this tool to model these rare processes. As a result, a precise neutron production yield can be presented. Thus, future underground experiments will be able to reliably model the expected rate of muon-induced neutrons, making it possible to develop the necessary shielding concept to suppress this background component.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 394
Book Description
Despite the great success of the Standard Model of particle physics, a preponderance of astrophysical evidence suggests that it cannot explain most of the matter in the universe. This so-called dark matter has eluded direct detection, though many theoretical extensions to the Standard Model predict the existence of particles with a mass on the $1-1000$ GeV scale that interact only via the weak nuclear force. Particles in this class are referred to as Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), and their high masses and low scattering cross sections make them viable dark matter candidates. The rarity of WIMP-nucleus interactions makes them challenging to detect: any background can mask the signal they produce. Background rejection is therefore a major problem in dark matter detection. Many experiments greatly reduce their backgrounds by employing techniques to reject electron recoils. However, nuclear recoil backgrounds, which produce signals similar to what we expect from WIMPs, remain problematic. There are two primary sources of such backgrounds: surface backgrounds and neutron recoils. Surface backgrounds result from radioactivity on the inner surfaces of the detector sending recoiling nuclei into the detector. These backgrounds can be removed with fiducial cuts, at some cost to the experiment's exposure. In this dissertation we briefly discuss a novel technique for rejecting these events based on signals they make in the wavelength shifter coating on the inner surfaces of some detectors. Neutron recoils result from neutrons scattering from nuclei in the detector. These backgrounds may produce a signal identical to what we expect from WIMPs and are extensively discussed here. We additionally present a new tool for calculating ($\alpha$, n)yields in various materials. We introduce the concept of a neutron veto system designed to shield against, measure, and provide an anti-coincidence veto signal for background neutrons. We discuss the research and development that informed the design of the DarkSide-50 boron-loaded liquid scintillator neutron veto. We describe the specific implementation of this veto system in DarkSide-50, including a description of its performance, and show that it can reject neutrons with a high enough e_ciency to allow DarkSide-50 to run background-free for three years.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 56
Book Description
In the past three years the groups supported by the DOE have all made significant progress and posted major successes. The Minnesota CMS group has played leading roles in five data analyses and has had major roles in detector operations, the data management and the detector upgrades that are planned for for the LHC and those that are planned for the high-luminosity LHC. The CDMS-II experiment held the lead in WIMP sensitivity over the last decade, and is still the most sensitive detector in the world in the low WIMP mass region, with a recent 3[sigma] hint of 8 GeV/c2 WIMP candidates in the silicon data. SuperCDMS, with three orders of magnitude better electron recoil background rejection, has been collecting data since October 2011. Since all dark matter experiments require a better understanding of neutron backgrounds to make further advances in sensitivity, Cushman has expanded the Minnesota effort on backgrounds to the national level, where she is leading a coordinated effort in neutron simulations for underground physics. The work of Mandic on 100 mm detectors both for Super-CDMS and beyond has advanced rapidly. Also at the Intensity Frontier, the BESIII experiment has had a successful year of operation largely focused on searches for and studies of new "charmonium-like" states above DD threshold. At least one new state has been observed so far, with hints of others. An intensive effort to understand their nature and gain new insight into the strong interaction continues. BESIII has also produced a large number of other results in charmonium decay and light-hadronic physics.
Author: Melinda Dominique Sweany Publisher: ISBN: 9781267029393 Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Direct dark matter experiments generally cannot distinguish between nuclear recoils caused by Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) and those caused by neutron backgrounds. It is therefore crucial that all sources of neutron background are well understood and accounted for when claiming a discovery or reporting limits on the WIMP-nucleon cross section. One source of neutrons that is not well understood results from cosmogenic muon interactions in the material surrounding a detector. The Neutron Multiplicity Meter in the Soudan cavern is a gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector capable of detecting high multiplicity neutron showers resulting from fast neutrons incident on a lead target. This measurement is the first such measurement obtained without a liquid scintillator detector medium; muon and neutron spallation is media-dependent, and because neutron shield technology for dark matter detectors is moving towards water, this is an important measurement. The integrated fast neutron flux in the Soudan cavern is reported as a linear function of the power, [alpha], of the neutron angular distribution with the zenith angle: [Fourier transform] = 4.8x10−9 ± 3.5x10−10 + (5.4x10−10 ± 1.5x10−10)[alpha]. Technological studies of neutron detection with gadolinium-doped water are also reported here. The neutron detection efficiency of a cylindrical 3.5 kL detector is measured at 70% for neutrons in the center of the detector. In addition, other improvements to water Cherenkov technology are explored, namely the addition of water-soluble wavelength-shifting chemicals. The wavelength-shifting chemical 4-Methylumbelliferone has been shown here to increase the measured light output of Cherenkov radiation resulting from neutron capture showers by a factor of 1.7.
Author: Elena Aprile Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 3527609636 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 362
Book Description
This book discusses the physical properties of noble fluids, operational principles of detectors based on these media, and the best technical solutions to the design of these detectors. Essential attention is given to detector technology: purification methods and monitoring of purity, information readout methods, electronics, detection of hard ultra-violet light emission, selection of materials, cryogenics etc. The book is mostly addressed to physicists and graduate students involved in the preparation of fundamental next generation experiments, nuclear engineers developing instrumentation for national nuclear security and for monitoring nuclear materials.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 437
Book Description
An ever-increasing amount of evidence suggests that approximately one quarter of the energy in the universe is composed of some non-luminous, and hitherto unknown, "dark matter". Physicists from numerous sub-fields have been working on and trying to solve the dark matter problem for decades. The common solution is the existence of some new type of elementary particle with particular focus on weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). One avenue of dark matter research is to create an extremely sensitive particle detector with the goal of directly observing the interaction of WIMPs with standard matter. The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) project operated at the Soudan Underground Laboratory from 2003-2015, under the CDMS II and SuperCDMS Soudan experiments, with this goal of directly detecting dark matter. The next installation, SuperCDMS SNOLAB, is planned for near-future operation. The reason the dark-matter particle has not yet been observed in traditional particle physics experiments is that it must have very small cross sections, thus making such interactions extremely rare. In order to identify these rare events in the presence of a background of known particles and interactions, direct detection experiments employ various types and amounts of shielding to prevent known backgrounds from reaching the instrumented detector(s). CDMS utilized various gamma and neutron shielding to such an effect that the shielding, and other experimental components, themselves were sources of background. These radiogenic backgrounds must be understood to have confidence in any WIMP-search result. For this dissertation, radiogenic background studies and estimates were performed for various analyses covering CDMS II, SuperCDMS Soudan, and SuperCDMS SNOLAB. Lower-mass dark matter t c2 inent in the past few years. The CDMS detectors can be operated in an alternative, higher-biased, mode v to decrease their energy thresholds and correspondingly increase their sensitivity to low-mass WIMPs. This is the CDMS low ionization threshold experiment (CDMSlite), which has pushed the frontier at lower WIMP masses. This dissertation describes the second run of CDMSlite at Soudan: its hardware, operations, analysis, and results. The results include new WIMP mass-cross section upper limits on the spin-independent and spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon interactions. Thanks to the lower background and threshold in this run compared to the first CDMSlite run, these limits are the most sensitive in the world below WIMP masses of ~4 GeV/c2. This demonstrates also the great promise and utility of the high-voltage operating mode in the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment.
Author: H. Nelson Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
In this report we have described the broad and compelling range of astrophysical and cosmological evidence that defines the dark matter problem, and the WIMP hypothesis, which offers a solution rooted in applying fundamental physics to the dynamics of the early universe. The WIMP hypothesis is being vigorously pursued, with a steady march of sensitivity improvements coming both from astrophysical searches and laboratory efforts. The connections between these approaches are profound and will reveal new information from physics at the smallest scales to the origin and workings of the entire universe. Direct searches for WIMP dark matter require sensitive detectors that have immunity to electromagnetic backgrounds, and are located in deep underground laboratories to reduce the flux from fast cosmic-ray-muon-induced neutrons which is a common background to all detection methods. With US leadership in dark matter searches and detector R & D, a new national laboratory will lay the foundation of technical support and facilities for the next generation of scientists and experiments in this field, and act as magnet for international cooperation and continued US leadership. The requirements of depth, space and technical support for the laboratory are fairly generic, regardless of the approach. Current experiments and upgraded versions that run within the next few years will probe cross sections on the 10{sup -45}-10{sup -44} cm{sup 2} scale, where depths of 3000-4000 m.w.e. are sufficient to suppress the neutron background. On the longer term, greater depths on the 5000-6000 level are desirable as cross sections down to 10{sup -46} cm{sup 2} are probed, and of course, if WIMPs are discovered then building up a statistical sample free of neutron backgrounds will be essential to extracting model parameters and providing a robust solution to the dark matter problem. While most of the detector technologies are of comparable physical scale, i.e., the various liquid and solid-state detector media under consideration have comparable density, a notable exception is the low-pressure gaseous detectors. These detectors are very likely to play a critical role in establishing the galactic origin of a signal, and so it is important to design the lab with this capability in mind. For example, for a WIMP-nucleon cross section of 10{sup -43} cm{sup 2} (just below the present limit [20]), 100 of the current DRIFT-II modules of 1 m{sup 3} at 40 torr CS{sub 2} [63] would require a two-year exposure [61] to get the approximately 200 events [64] required to establish the signal's galactic origin. While detector improvements are under investigation, a simple scaling for the bottom of the MSSM region at 10{sup -46} cm{sup 2} would require a 100,000 m{sup 3} detector volume. If a factor of 10 reduction in required volume is achieved (e.g., higher pressure operation, more detailed track reconstruction, etc.) then an experimental hall of (50 m){sup 3} could accommodate the experiment. Because the WIMP-nucleon cross section is unknown, it is impossible to make a definitive statement as to the ultimate requirements for a directional gaseous dark matter detector, or any other device, for that matter. What is clear, however, is that whatever confidence one gives to specific theoretical considerations, the foregoing discussion clearly indicates the high scientific priority of, broad intellectual interest in, and expanding technical capabilities for increasing the ultimate reach of direct searches for WIMP dark matter. Upcoming experiments will advance into the low-mass Supersymmetric region and explore the most favored models in a complementary way to the LHC, and on a similar time scale. The combination of astrophysical searches and accelerator experiments stands to check the consistency of the solution to the dark matter problem and provide powerful constraints on the model parameters. Knowledge of the particle properties from laboratory measurements will help to isolate and reduce the astrophysical uncertainties, which will allow a more complete picture of the galactic halo and could eventually differentiate between, say, infall versus isothermal models of galaxy formation. The scientific landscape of dark matter, which spans particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, is very rich and interwoven. Exploring this exciting program following an initial detection will need many observables and hence a range of capabilities for followup experiments including different targets to sort out the mass and coupling of the WIMP, and directional sensitivity to confirm its galactic origin and open the age of WIMP astronomy. Clearly, this broad and fascinating program is ideally suited to the multi-decade span of DUSEL.
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Author: Holger Kluck
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Author: Hesti R. T. Wulandari
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Author: Melinda Dominique Sweany
Author: Elena Aprile
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Author: H. Nelson