Collaborative Proposal: Continuation of th XENON Dark Matter Project: Construction and Underground Operation of an Upgraded XENON100 Detector

合作提案：XENON 暗物质项目的延续：升级版 XENON100 探测器的建造和地下运行

• 批准号: 0904220
• 负责人: Elena Aprile
• 金额: $ 242.38万
• 依托单位: Columbia University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0904220&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Proposal; Continuation; th; XENON

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This project addresses the question of the nature of dark matter in the Universe with an experimental search for Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs) using two-phase xenon detectors. This group is currently operating at the 100 kg mass scale with the XENON100 experiment which has replaced the XENON10 prototype in the same shield and location at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory. The worldwide race towards direct dark matter detection has been dramatically accelerated by the fast evolution of detectors based on noble liquids. They have shifted the scale of target mass from a few to tens of kilograms, while reducing the overall gamma/beta background to less than 0.001 events/kg/keV/day, much lower than scintillator and cryogenic bolometer detectors. Despite being only a prototype, XENON10 has shown the potential of two-phase Xe detectors for dark matter searches, bringing the XENON program to the forefront of the field. This award will provide funds to continue the XENON program for 2 more years to complete the dark matter search with the current XENON100 detector within 2009, and to realize an upgraded detector by early 2010 in the same shield and location. Additionally, XENON100 has a robust possibility to address questions related to the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signature, shedding new light on this controversial result. The broader impact of the XENON science program addresses questions about the fundamental properties of the Universe and has all the ingredients to captivate the interest and imagination of students and the general public alike. Technical-related work can impact society in a number of ways: liquid xenon imaging detectors and related technologies find applications in several fields outside particle astrophysics, including national security and medical imaging research.

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏与再投资法》（公法111-5）资助的。 该项目通过使用两相Xenon检测器对弱互动的质量颗粒（WIMP）进行实验性搜索，以解决宇宙中暗物质的性质问题。该组目前正在用Xenon100实验以100公斤的质量尺度运行，该实验已在Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory的同一盾牌和位置中取代了Xenon10原型。基于贵族液体的检测器的快速发展，全球朝向直接暗物质检测的竞赛已经大大加速。他们将目标质量的尺度从几公斤转移到了数十公斤，同时将整个伽马/β背景降低到小于0.001事件/kg/kev/day，远低于闪烁体和低温高压仪检测器。尽管仅是原型，但Xenon10还是显示了两相XE检测器对暗物质搜索的潜力，将Xenon程序带到了该领域的最前沿。该奖项将为Xenon计划提供2年的资金，以在2009年与当前的Xenon100检测器一起完成暗物质搜索，并在2010年初在同一盾牌和位置实现升级的检测器。此外，Xenon100具有强大的可能性，可以解决与Dama/Libra年度调制签名有关的问题，从而为这一有争议的结果提供了新的启示。 Xenon科学计划的更广泛的影响解决了有关宇宙基本属性的问题，并具有吸引学生和公众的兴趣和想象的所有成分。与技术相关的工作可以通过多种方式影响社会：液体氙气探测器和相关技术在粒子天体物理学以外的几个领域中找到了应用，包括国家安全和医学成像研究。