Developing opportunities for LAr discovery science at the Boulby Underground Laboratory

该提案将探索和发展机会，通过使用液态氩时间投影室和尖端硅光敏传感器和电荷像素读出技术，为英国和Boulby地下实验室在直接暗物质探测、中微子物理和新型仪器开发领域带来新的世界领先的国际实验。拟议的工作将使国际实验团体参与到任何可能追求的未来大规模液态氩气科学计划的雄心和要求中，并通过与Boulby地下实验室的工作人员密切合作，确保实验室的发展是为了实现这些机会。该建议将探讨可行性和设计要求，以利用博尔比现有的实验室空间来开发一个实验测试平台设施，以开发新的仪器技术；确定在博尔比建造低温恒温器以进行新的暗物质/中微子物理实验的要求；并执行和记录必要的研究：(i)在未来十年的Boulby实验室扩展中，为这样一个具有世界领先科学发现潜力的实验选址制定概念设计，以及（ii）向国际社会推广英国和Boulby，使其成为未来在这些地区进行大规模科学投资的可靠地点，并吸引国际用户群到英国。

This proposal will explore and develop the opportunity to bring new world-leading, international experiments to the UK and to the Boulby Underground Laboratory in the areas of direct dark matter detection, neutrino physics, and novel instrumentation development through the use of liquid argon time projection chambers and cutting-edge silicon photosensor and charge pixel readout technologies. The proposed work will engage the international experimental communities to capture the ambitions and requirements for any future large-scale liquid argon science programme that could be pursued, and through close collaboration with staff at the Boulby Underground Laboratory ensure that the development of the Laboratory is directed to enable these opportunities. This proposal will explore the feasibility and design requirements to exploit both the existing laboratory space at Boulby to develop an experimental testbed facility for the development of new instrumentation technologies; determine the requirements for the construction of a cryostat at Boulby to host a new dark matter / neutrino physics experiment; and perform and document the necessary studies to both:(i) develop the concept designs for siting such an experiment with world-leading scientific discovery potential in the next decade within a future expansion of the Boulby laboratory, and (ii) promote the UK and Boulby to the international community as a credible site for future large-scale scientific investment in these areas and to attract an international user base to the UK.