"Direct Searches for Dark Matter Using Noble Liquids"

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PROPOSAL NUMBER: 0800526INSTITUTION: Yale UniversityNSF PROGRAM: PHY - PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICSPRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: McKinsey, DanielTITLE: "Direct Searches for Dark Matter Using Noble Liquids" ABSTRACTAstronomical observations indicate that the universe is dominated by some unidentified dark matter whose total mass exceeds that of normal matter by a factor 5-10. A theoretically favored dark matter candidate is a new weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) interacting only weakly but nevertheless producing rare nuclear recoils detectable in suitable targets. This award will provide funds to enable this research group at Yale University to contribute to the LUX dark matter experiment that promises to substantially improve the sensitivity to, or discover, the existence of WIMPs. LUX is a proposed two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon experiment, with a liquid xenon (LXe) time projection chamber mass of 300 kg. LUX is based on the same basic technology as the recent XENON10 experiment which has set stringent limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross-section. On LUX, this group will be responsible for the slow control electronics, xenon purification systems, and a system for deploying radioactive sources for detector calibration. Among the Broader Impacts, the development of technology related to noble liquid detectors will find use in the increasing number of experiments worldwide using noble liquids as detection materials. These projects will also result in technical training in radiation detection, cryogenics, and gas purification for graduate and undergraduate students. LXe, LAr, and LNe may have practical application to gamma ray imaging for astrophysics, Homeland Security, and medical imaging, as well as for fast neutron detection.