Astroparticle Detection

大量的观测表明，宇宙96%以上是由不可见的物质和能量组成的。这些缺失成分的性质是物理学中最基本的谜团之一，并引起了公众的广泛关注。暗物质的主要候选者是大爆炸遗留下来的亚原子粒子，称为弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMP）。这种粒子也可以用超对称性来预测，超对称性是一种受欢迎的新粒子模型。如果WIMP存在，它们也是我们银河系中的主要质量。虽然它们很少与常规物质相互作用，但它们应该可以被地球上足够灵敏的探测器探测到，通过与目标材料中的原子核的弹性散射。该奖项为LUX（大型地下氙）暗物质搜索实验的工作提供了基础支持。LUX的特点是一个300公斤的两相氙暗物质探测器，它将被安置在位于南达科他州霍姆斯特克矿山桑福德实验室戴维斯洞穴的一个大型防水罩中。LUX目前正在开始探测器的最后集成，地面操作预计将于2010年底开始，地下操作将于2011年底开始。凯斯集团在LUX的设计和建造中发挥了核心作用，并将在LUX的运行和分析中发挥重要作用。更广泛的影响：该技术可以应用于其他基础实验，如双β衰变和太阳中微子，并可能产生新的医疗诊断技术，或应用于国土安全和核扩散/验证。该小组将参加LUX与桑福德实验室合作开展的广泛的教育和推广活动。

A wealth of observations shows that the universe is composed of more than 96% invisible matter and energy. The nature of these missing components is one of the most fundamental mysteries in physics, and has attracted broad attention from the public. The leading candidate for the invisible "dark matter" is a subatomic particle left over from the big bang known as the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). Such particles are also predicted by supersymmetry, a favored class of new particle models. If WIMPs exist, they are also the dominant mass in our own Milky Way. Although they very rarely interact with conventional matter, they should nonetheless be detectable by sufficiently sensitive detectors on Earth, through elastic scattering with atomic nuclei in a target material. This award provides base support for work on the LUX (Large Underground Xenon) dark matter search experiment. LUX features a 300 kg two-phase xenon dark matter detector, which will be housed in a large water shield located in the Davis Cavern at the Sanford Lab in the Homestake Mine, South Dakota. LUX is currently beginning final integration of the detector, with surface operations expected to start in late 2010 and underground operations in late 2011. The Case group has had a central role in the design and construction of LUX and will play a major role in LUX operations and analysis.Broader impacts: The technology can be applied to other fundamental experiments such as double beta decay and solar neutrinos, and may give rise to new medical diagnostic techniques, or applications to Homeland Security and nuclear proliferation/verification. This group will participate in extensive education and outreach activities being undertaken by LUX in conjunction with Sanford Lab.