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（WIMP）的存在，并且世界范围内的实验正在努力检验这一假设。暗物质（DM）的本质迄今为止仍难以捉摸，但却是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对宇宙的理解产生深远的影响，并为粒子物理学和宇宙学开辟新的方向。该项目重点关注 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) 中的光 DM 感应的核反冲和电子来超越重 WIMP 范例。该一公斤探测器将通过国际合作安装在法国莫达讷南部实验室。该奖项为美国建造 DAMIC-M 探测器提供支持。沉浸式研究经验、当地社区的参与和创新合作伙伴关系将为正式和非正式受众带来 DM 科学。与针对代表性不足群体的项目（例如芝加哥大学和菲斯克-范德比尔特桥大学、华盛顿大学社区学院转学项目）合作开发的研究经验将增强研究生和本科生水平的多样性。当地社区将广泛参与芝加哥，将太空探索者计划和 STEM 科学探究与研究计划的高中 URM 学生融入到一个刺激的研究环境中，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；通过科学合作伙伴计划，让理科学校教师参与华盛顿大学的研究，从而在太平洋西北地区开展研究。 DM 科学将通过与阿德勒天文馆的合作，特别是通过高影响力（每年 50,000 名参观者）阿德勒天文学对话项目，让科学家们与博物馆参观者直接互动。在这种新颖且非传统的 CCD 用途（通常用于天文望远镜的数字成像）中，电离电荷将在有史以来最大的 CCD 中以精致的空间分辨率进行检测。这些设备的关键创新是对像素电荷的非破坏性重复测量，从而实现对单个电子的高分辨率检测和对光 DM 前所未有的灵敏度（约 eV 能量足以释放硅中的电子）。通过计算漏电流极低的探测器中的单个电荷（任何其他 DM 实验都无法比拟的组合），DAMIC-M 将在隐藏区域的探索中迈出几个数量级的飞跃，这一飞跃可能会因偶然的发现而得到回报。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.