Exploring Spin-Dependent Interactions of Dark Matter with DMTPCino

直接观测暗物质将在天体物理学和粒子物理学中产生深远的影响。通过直接观察探测器中的暗物质粒子，我们将能够确定构成宇宙83%质量的粒子的性质。这些研究将为超越标准模型的物理学提供一个独特的窗口，并对在大型强子对撞机上寻找新物理学起到补充作用。方向敏感型弱相互作用大质量粒子(WIMP)探测器由于其优良的背景抑制能力，将为直接观测暗物质提供最令人信服的证据。反冲轨道的能量和长度之间的相关性允许由于光子、电子和阿尔法粒子而对背景产生强大的排斥。此外，测量到的核反冲方向和暗物质风的预期方向之间的相关性允许有效地排除更隐蔽的背景，如中子和太阳中微子。最后，方向性可以区分我们银河系中的各种暗物质晕模型，使定向探测器成为地下WIMP天文的独特天文台。该奖项将提供资金，用于建造一个探测器，测量WIMP粒子的方向以及它们的反冲能量，以提供对暗物质的明确观测，即使在存在背景的情况下也是如此。提出的探测器是DMTPCino，一个1立方米的低压时间投影室(TPC)，具有光学读出功能。这项技术可以用于粒子物理以外的几个应用，比如国土安全和国防应用的中子探测，通过发射裂变谱中子来扫描潜在的危险物质。DMTPC原理作为一种医疗和生物应用的成像设备的应用也在研究中。DMTPCino实验是教育和培训下一代粒子物理学家的理想选择。

Direct observation of dark matter will have profound implications in astrophysics and particle physics. By directly observing dark matter particles in our detectors, we will be able to determine the nature of the particles that make up to 83% of the mass of the universe. These studies will offer a unique window on physics beyond the Standard Model, and are complementary to searches for New Physics at the Large Hadron Collider. Direction-sensitive Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) detectors will provide the most convincing evidence for direct observation of dark matter due to their excellent background rejection capabilities. The correlation between the energy and length of the recoil track allows for a powerful rejection of backgrounds due to photons, electrons, and alpha particles. In addition, the correlation between the measured direction of the nuclear recoil and the expected direction of the dark matter wind allows for an efficient rejection of more insidious backgrounds, such as neutrons and solar neutrinos. Finally, directionality can discriminate between various dark matter halo models in our Galaxy, making directional detectors unique observatories for underground WIMP astronomy.This award will provide funding to construct a detector that measures the direction of the WIMP particles as well as their recoil energy, to provide an unambiguous observation of dark matter, even in the presence of backgrounds. The detector proposed is DMTPCino, a 1 cubic meter, low-pressure time projection chamber (TPC) with optical readout. The technology can be used for several applications outside particle physics, such as neutron detection for homeland security and defense applications, to scan for potentially hazardous materials through the emission of fission-spectrum neutrons. Applications of the DMTPC principle as an imaging device for medical and biological applications are also under study. The DMTPCino experiment is ideal for educating and training the next generation of particle physicists.