The SuperCDMS Research Program at SMU

多项天文观测已经证实，宇宙中约85%的物质不是由正常原子组成，而是必须是不发射或吸收光线的、未被探测到的基本型“暗物质”粒子。破译这种所谓的暗物质的本质对宇宙学、天体物理学和高能粒子物理学具有根本的重要性。一个主要的假设是，它是由相互作用很弱的大质量粒子组成的，这些粒子是在大爆炸后不久产生的。如果WIMP是暗物质，那么它们在我们银河系中的存在可能是通过位于地下深处的探测器中原子核的散射来检测到的，以帮助排除宇宙射线的背景。WIMP暗物质的直接探测将解开粒子物理学和宇宙学中的一个基本谜团，为了解宇宙的初级物质构成和粒子物理标准模型之外的物理学提供了一个独特的窗口。该奖项的教育目标将是为SMU的本科生创造研究机会，并促进与北得克萨斯州社区的关系。从事该项目的学生和博士后学者将在低温物理、高能物理和天体物理技术、模拟技术和数据分析方面获得强有力的科学和教育准备。北得克萨斯州社区将受益于接触到将在各种项目中担任导师的教职员工和学生。SMU的研究项目致力于推动SuperCDMS SNOLAB实验朝着其目标前进，即利用由Ge和Si晶体制成的探测器在超灵敏高压模式和标准电压模式下工作，探索低质量(10GeV)暗物质区域。SuperCDMS必须保持受控的低本底环境。在接下来的三年里，要推进这一计划，必须实现一些关键的里程碑。这包括最终确定屏蔽设计、背景评估、材料选择、实验构建和分析开发。该项目涉及几项有助于协作实现这些里程碑的活动：开发用于高级统计分析的背景模型，开发用于校准低能区域探测器的算法，以及利用用于SuperCDMS SNOLAB项目的SMU Xia Alpha粒子计数器对材料和探测器部件进行表面分析。

Multiple astronomical observations have established that about 85% of the matter in the universe is not made of normal atoms, but must be otherwise undetected elementary "dark matter" particles that do not emit or absorb light. Deciphering the nature of this so-called Dark Matter is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics, and high-energy particle physics. A leading hypothesis is that it is comprised of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs, that were produced moments after the Big Bang. If WIMPs are the dark matter, then their presence in our galaxy may be detectable via scattering from atomic nuclei in detectors located deep underground to help reject backgrounds due to cosmic rays. Direct detection of WIMP dark matter would solve a fundamental mystery in particle physics and cosmology, providing a unique window to learning about the primary matter constituent of the Universe and of physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.The educational objective of this award will be to create research opportunities for undergraduate students at SMU and foster relationships with the North Texas community. Students and postdoctoral scholars working on this project will receive strong scientific and educational preparation in the techniques of low temperature physics, high energy physics and astrophysics, simulation techniques and the analysis of data. The North Texas community will benefit from access to faculty and students who will serve as mentors in a variety of programs.The research program at SMU is dedicated to advancing the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment towards its goal of exploring the low mass ( 10 GeV) dark matter region with detectors made of Ge and Si crystals operated in both an ultra-sensitive high-voltage mode and standard voltage mode. SuperCDMS must maintain a controlled low background environment. During the next three years, a number of critical milestones must be achieved to advance this program. This includes the finalization of shield designs, background estimations, material selection, experiment construction and analysis development. This project involves several activities which will assist the collaboration towards meeting these milestones: development of background models for use in advanced statistical analyses, development of algorithms for calibration of detectors in the low energy region and surface assay of materials and detector components with the SMU XIA alpha particle counter for the SuperCDMS SNOLAB project.