Collaborative Research: The DAMIC-M Detector to Search for Light Dark Matter

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There is strong cosmological and astrophysical evidence for cold dark matter as a major constituent of the universe. A compelling explanation is the existence of hitherto unknown Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), and a world-wide experimental effort is on-going to test this hypothesis. The nature of Dark Matter (DM), so far elusive, constitutes one of the most fundamental questions in science. Its discovery as a yet unknown particle would have profound implications in our understanding of the universe, and open new directions in particle physics and cosmology. This project focuses on the DAMIC-M (Dark Matter In CCDs) experiment, which will search beyond the heavy WIMP paradigm by detecting nuclear recoils and electrons induced by light DM in charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The one-kg detector will be installed at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, France by an international collaboration. This award provides US support for the construction of the DAMIC-M detector.Immersive research experiences, engagement of the local community and innovative partnerships will bring DM science to formal and informal audiences. Research experiences developed in collaboration with programs focused on underrepresented groups - e.g., U. Chicago and Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge, the Community College Transfer Program at U. Washington - will enhance diversity at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The local community will be broadly engaged in Chicago by integrating high school URM students of the Space Explorers Program and of the STEM Science Inquiry and Research program in a stimulating research environment, by enhancing the RISE program for URM middle-school students and by communicating science to older adults via the Life-long Learning program; in the Pacific Northwest by engaging science school teachers in research at U. Washington through the Partners in Science program. DM science will reach broad and diverse audiences through partnerships with the Adler Planetarium, in particular with the high-impact (50,000 visitors/yr) Adler Astronomy Conversations program, where scientists interact directly with museum visitors.In this novel and unconventional use of CCDs, which are commonly employed for digital imaging in astronomical telescopes, the ionization charge will be detected in the most massive CCDs ever built with exquisite spatial resolution. The crucial innovation in these devices is the non-destructive, repetitive measurement of the pixel charge, which results in the high-resolution detection of a single electron and unprecedented sensitivity to light DM (~ eV energies are enough to free an electron in silicon). By counting individual charges in a detector with extremely low leakage current - a combination unmatched by any other DM experiment - DAMIC-M will take a leap forward of several orders of magnitude in the exploration of the hidden sector, a jump that may be rewarded by serendipitous discovery.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.