Collaborative Research: Continuation of the XENON100 Dark Matter Search at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory

合作研究：格兰萨索地下实验室继续进行 XENON100 暗物质搜索

• 批准号: 1104720
• 负责人: Hanguo Wang
• 金额: $ 72.3万
• 依托单位: University of California-Los Angeles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1104720&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Continuation; XENON100; Dark

This award addresses the question of the nature of Dark Matter (DM) in the Universe with an experimental direct detection search for Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs) using two-phase xenon detectors within the XENON program. This Collaboration is currently at the 100 kg mass scale with the XENON100 experiment at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory (LNGS), Italy. The next phase will be a detector at the ton scale (XENON1T) with a sensitivity goal of more than two orders of magnitude better than the current best limits from XENON100, currently the lowest background and largest mass direct detection experiment operating underground. These funds will enable these groups to continue the XENON100 experiment to reach the design sensitivity for the spin-independent cross-section and to study other WIMP interaction scenarios. They plan to take data for at least one continuous year throughout 2011 to search for both spin-independent and spin-dependent DM, for inelastic DM and low mass DM and for an annual modulation signal in the XENON100 data.Broader Impacts: The XENON science, addressing questions about fundamental properties of the Universe, 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.

该奖项通过在 XENON 计划中使用两相氙探测器对弱相互作用大质量粒子 (WIMP) 进行实验性直接探测搜索，解决了宇宙中暗物质 (DM) 的本质问题。此次合作目前正在意大利格兰萨索地下实验室 (LNGS) 进行 100 公斤质量规模的 XENON100 实验。下一阶段将是吨级探测器 (XENON1T)，其灵敏度目标比 XENON100 的当前最佳极限高两个数量级以上，XENON100 是目前在地下运行的背景最低、质量最大的直接探测实验。这些资金将使这些小组能够继续进行 XENON100 实验，以达到与自旋无关的横截面的设计灵敏度，并研究其他 WIMP 相互作用场景。他们计划在 2011 年至少连续一年获取数据，以寻找自旋无关和自旋相关的 DM、非弹性 DM 和低质量 DM 以及 XENON100 数据中的年度调制信号。 更广泛的影响：XENON 科学解决了有关宇宙基本属性的问题，拥有激发学生和公众兴趣和想象力的所有要素。技术相关工作可以通过多种方式影响社会：液氙成像探测器和相关技术在粒子天体物理学之外的多个领域得到应用，包括国家安全和医学成像研究。