Astroparticle Detection

天体粒子探测

• 批准号: 1406943
• 负责人: Daniel Akerib
• 金额: $ 90.99万
• 依托单位: Case Western Reserve University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-15 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1406943&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Astroparticle; Detection

The discovery of dark matter is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics and elementary particle physics. A broad range of observations from galactic to cosmological scales indicate that nearly 90% of the matter in the universe is made up of some new type of particle, different from ordinary matter. This type of matter has revealed itself only through gravity and is referred to as "dark matter" because it neither emits nor absorbs light. A leading hypothesis is that the dark matter is comprised of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs, that were produced shortly after the Big Bang from annihilation of ordinary matter. If WIMPs are the dark matter then they will make up a spherical halo around the Milky Way and be detectable through interactions with atomic nuclei in a suitably massive and sensitive detector. This award will further the search for WIMPs by supporting work on the LUX (Large Underground Xenon) dark matter experiment that is currently operating in the Homestake Mine in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota. This award will also support development of the followup LZ (LUX-Zeplin) experiment, with a proposed mass of seven tons. The search for dark matter has been driven by the development of radiation detectors with ultra-low radioactive backgrounds. These detectors are also playing a role in neutrino physics, and have the potential for security, medical and industrial applications. Work on LUX and LZ provides excellent and unique opportunities for student training with technical skills that can be used in careers in basic research or in the private sector. Using 250 kg of actively monitored liquid xenon, the LUX experiment is now at the vanguard in the search for dark matter. The upper limit on the interaction rate between WIMPs and ordinary matter that is now established by LUX rules out new regions of parameter space, and provides solid evidence that claims of WIMPs in the low mass region around 10 GeV are likely due to instrumental effects or unidentified backgrounds. With the next few years of operations and analysis it will become clear whether WIMPs will be detected in LUX or new upper limits set. In either case, LZ will be well positioned to follow up and continue the search with sensitivities 1000 times better than LUX's current limit.

The discovery of dark matter is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics and elementary particle physics.从银河尺度到宇宙尺度的广泛观测表明，宇宙中近 90% 的物质是由某种不同于普通物质的新型粒子组成的。 This type of matter has revealed itself only through gravity and is referred to as "dark matter" because it neither emits nor absorbs light.一个主要的假设是，暗物质由弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMP）组成，这些粒子是在大爆炸后不久由普通物质湮灭而产生的。 如果 WIMP 是暗物质，那么它们将在银河系周围形成一个球形晕，并且可以通过在适当质量和敏感的探测器中与原子核的相互作用来探测到。该奖项将通过支持目前在南达科他州桑福德地下研究设施 Homestake 矿进行的 LUX（大型地下氙气）暗物质实验工作，进一步推动对 WIMP 的研究。 This award will also support development of the followup LZ (LUX-Zeplin) experiment, with a proposed mass of seven tons. The search for dark matter has been driven by the development of radiation detectors with ultra-low radioactive backgrounds. These detectors are also playing a role in neutrino physics, and have the potential for security, medical and industrial applications. LUX 和 LZ 的工作为学生培训技术技能提供了绝佳且独特的机会，这些技能可用于基础研究或私营部门的职业生涯。 Using 250 kg of actively monitored liquid xenon, the LUX experiment is now at the vanguard in the search for dark matter. LUX 目前确定的 WIMP 与普通物质相互作用率的上限排除了参数空间的新区域，并提供了确凿的证据，表明 10 GeV 左右的低质量区域中的 WIMP 可能是由于仪器效应或不明背景造成的。 With the next few years of operations and analysis it will become clear whether WIMPs will be detected in LUX or new upper limits set. In either case, LZ will be well positioned to follow up and continue the search with sensitivities 1000 times better than LUX's current limit.