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

有强有力的宇宙学和天体物理学证据表明冷暗物质是宇宙的主要组成部分。一个令人信服的解释是迄今为止未知的弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMPs）的存在，世界范围内的实验努力正在测试这一假设。迄今为止，暗物质（DM）的性质是难以捉摸的，它构成了科学中最基本的问题之一。它作为一种未知粒子的发现将对我们理解宇宙产生深远的影响，并为粒子物理学和宇宙学开辟新的方向。该项目的重点是DAMIC-M（CCD中的暗物质）实验，该实验将通过检测电荷耦合器件（CCD）中的轻DM引起的核反冲和电子来超越重WIMP范式。一公斤重的探测器将通过国际合作安装在法国莫达内的Souterrain。该奖项为DAMIC-M探测器的建设提供了美国的支持。沉浸式的研究经验，当地社区的参与和创新的合作伙伴关系将把DM科学带给正式和非正式的观众。与专注于代表性不足群体的项目合作开发的研究经验-例如，联合芝加哥和菲斯克-范德比尔特桥，社区学院转移计划在美国。华盛顿--将增强研究生和本科生层次的多样性。当地社区将广泛参与芝加哥的太空探索者计划和STEM科学调查和研究计划的高中URM学生在一个刺激的研究环境，通过加强URM中学生的RISE计划，并通过终身学习计划向老年人传播科学;在太平洋西北地区，通过在美国大学从事科学学校教师的研究。华盛顿通过科学伙伴计划。DM科学将通过与阿德勒天文馆的合作关系，特别是与高影响力天文馆的合作关系，（每年50，000名参观者）阿德勒天文学对话项目，科学家在这里与博物馆参观者直接互动。在这种新颖而非传统的CCD使用中，CCD通常用于天文望远镜的数字成像，电离电荷将在有史以来最大的CCD中被检测到，具有精确的空间分辨率。这些器件的关键创新在于对像素电荷的非破坏性重复测量，这导致了对单个电子的高分辨率检测和对光的前所未有的灵敏度DM（~ eV的能量足以释放硅中的电子）。通过对具有极低漏电流的探测器中的单个电荷进行计数-这是任何其他DM实验都无法比拟的组合- DAMIC-M将在隐藏扇区的探索中实现几个数量级的飞跃，这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

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.