Collaborative Proposal: Continuation of th XENON Dark Matter Project: Construction and Underground Operation of an Upgraded XENON100 Detector

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。 该项目通过使用两相氙探测器对弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMP）进行实验性搜索来解决宇宙中暗物质的性质问题。该小组目前正在进行100公斤质量规模的氙100实验，该实验取代了在Gran Sasso地下实验室同一屏蔽层和地点的氙10原型。基于稀有液体的探测器的快速发展大大加速了全球直接探测暗物质的竞赛。他们已经将目标质量的规模从几公斤转移到几十公斤，同时将总体伽马/β背景降低到小于0.001事件/kg/keV/天，远低于闪烁体和低温测辐射热计探测器。尽管只是一个原型，XENON 10已经显示了两相探测器用于暗物质搜索的潜力，将XENON计划带到了该领域的最前沿。这笔资金将用于继续XENON计划2年，以在2009年内完成现有XENON 100探测器的暗物质搜索，并在2010年初在同一屏蔽层和位置实现升级探测器。此外，XENON 100具有解决与DAMA/LIBRA年度调制特征相关的问题的强大可能性，从而为这一有争议的结果提供了新的线索。XENON科学计划的更广泛影响解决了有关宇宙基本性质的问题，并具有吸引学生和公众兴趣和想象力的所有成分。与技术相关的工作可以通过多种方式影响社会：液体氙成像探测器和相关技术在粒子天体物理学之外的几个领域中找到应用，包括国家安全和医学成像研究。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This project addresses the question of the nature of dark matter in the Universe with an experimental search for Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs) using two-phase xenon detectors. This group is currently operating at the 100 kg mass scale with the XENON100 experiment which has replaced the XENON10 prototype in the same shield and location at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory. The worldwide race towards direct dark matter detection has been dramatically accelerated by the fast evolution of detectors based on noble liquids. They have shifted the scale of target mass from a few to tens of kilograms, while reducing the overall gamma/beta background to less than 0.001 events/kg/keV/day, much lower than scintillator and cryogenic bolometer detectors. Despite being only a prototype, XENON10 has shown the potential of two-phase Xe detectors for dark matter searches, bringing the XENON program to the forefront of the field. This award will provide funds to continue the XENON program for 2 more years to complete the dark matter search with the current XENON100 detector within 2009, and to realize an upgraded detector by early 2010 in the same shield and location. Additionally, XENON100 has a robust possibility to address questions related to the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signature, shedding new light on this controversial result. The broader impact of the XENON science program addresses questions about the fundamental properties of the Universe and has all the ingredients to captivate the interest and imagination of students and the general public alike. Technical-related work can impact society in a number of ways: liquid xenon imaging detectors and related technologies find applications in several fields outside particle astrophysics, including national security and medical imaging research.