EAGER: The Development of Axion Software for CUORE

多个天文观测已经确定，宇宙中大约85%的物质不是由已知的基本粒子组成的。破译这种所谓的暗物质的性质对宇宙学、天体物理学和高能粒子物理学具有根本的重要性。最令人兴奋的任务之一是寻找粒子物理学标准模型之外的新粒子，该模型描述了所有已知的基本粒子以及它们之间的相互作用。模型的扩展不仅预测了具有大质量的新粒子，而且预测了一些具有非常小质量的粒子。后者的候选者是轴子，它被引入来解释量子色动力学中电荷宇称（CP）对称性破坏的微小性，该理论描述了强作用力的作用，例如，构成原子核的质子和中子之间的相互作用。轴子也被证明是宇宙中暗物质的主要候选成分。强CP问题解决的结论必须等待轴子的实验发现。该奖项将提供资金，用于寻找太阳核心中由特定激发核（铁）衰变产生的轴子。轴子的发现可以解释宇宙学中的许多现象。该奖项还将为一名经验丰富的研究生提供一个激励的环境，让他从事一个非常具有挑战性的软件项目，该项目涉及粒子天体物理学实验的最新数据。该奖项将涉及一种技术，用于搜索由热激发到14.4 keV，3/2+态的Fe-57核的基态衰变产生的轴子。这种去激发是M1核基态跃迁。理论上，核M1跃迁有一个弱的轴子分支。这项工作涉及开发复杂的软件来搜索来自CUORE探测器的数据，以获得与已知布拉格条件模式相一致的周期性行为的调制特性，该模式与每天的每个时刻的已知太阳位置相关联。CUORE探测器是一个由988个排列的TeO 2单晶测辐射热计组成的阵列，在意大利阿塞尔吉的Gran Sasso国家实验室（LNGS）工作。一个主要的挑战是评估阵列中每个晶体取向的不确定性，并评估其对分析结论的影响。这些不确定性必须纳入数据分析，以确保如果有来自太阳的轴子满足布拉格条件，实验对它们敏感，最重要的是，分析不会产生错误信号。

Multiple astronomical observations have established that about 85% of the matter in the universe is not made of known elementary particles. Deciphering the nature of this so-called Dark Matter is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics, and high-energy particle physics. One of the most exciting quests is the search for new particles beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics, which describes all the known elementary particles and the interactions between them. Extensions of the model predict not only new particles with large masses but also some with very small masses. Such a candidate for the latter is the axion, which has been introduced to explain the smallness of the violation of the Charge-Parity (CP) symmetry in Quantum Chromodynamics, the theory describing the action of the strong force, for example, the interactions between protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei. The axion turns out to also be a prime candidate for a constituent of the dark matter in the universe. The conclusion that the strong CP problem is solved must await the experimental discovery of the axion. This award will provide funds to search for axions that are produced in the solar core by the decay of a particular excited nucleus (iron).The discovery of the axion could explain a number of phenomena in cosmology. This award will also provide a stimulating environment for an experienced graduate student to work on a very challenging software project involving state of the art data from a particle astrophysics experiment.This award will involve a technique to search for axions that are produced by the ground-state decay of a Fe-57 nucleus thermally excited to the 14.4-keV, 3/2+ state. This deexcitation is an M1 nuclear ground state transition. Theoretically, nuclear M1 transitions have a weak axion branch. This work involves developing sophisticated software to search the data from the CUORE detector for the modulations characteristic of the periodic behavior consistent with the known Bragg condition patterns associated with the known position of the sun at every instant of every day. The CUORE detector is an array of 988 aligned TeO2 single crystal bolometers operated in Laboratori Nazionale del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Assergi, Italy. A major challenge is to evaluate the uncertainties in the orientation of every crystal in the array, and to evaluate its impact on conclusions drawn from the analysis. These uncertainties must be incorporated into the data analysis to be sure that if there are axions from the sun satisfying the Bragg conditions, the experiment is sensitive to them, and, most importantly, that the analysis does not create generate a false signal.