Dr
Kimberly Palladino
(MIT)
30/07/2010 09:55
Talk
MiniCLEAN is a direct dark matter detection experiment currently under construction at SNOLab. It will utilize ~500 kg of liquid cryogen with a fiducial volume over 150 kg. This is interchangeable between argon and neon, as they provide different responses to signal and background. Nuclear recoils caused by neutron scattering are a background to dark matter events and are extensively...
Joachim Kopp
(Fermilab)
30/07/2010 10:15
Talk
Dark matter interacting predominantly with leptons instead of nuclear matter has received a lot of interest recently. In this talk, we investigate the signals expected from such 'leptophilic Dark Matter' in direct detection experiments and in experiments looking for Dark Matter annihilation into neutrinos in the Sun. In a model-independent framework, we calculate the expected interaction rates...
Dr
Jason Steffen
(Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics)
30/07/2010 10:35
Dark Matter Direct Searches
Talk
A scalar field is a favorite candidate for the particle responsible for dark energy. However, few theoretical means exist that can simultaneously explain the observed acceleration of the Universe and evade tests of gravity. The chameleon mechanism, whereby the properties of a particle depend upon the local environment, is one possible avenue. I present the results of the Chameleon Afterglow...
Dr
Vitaly Kudryavtsev
(University of Sheffield)
30/07/2010 10:55
Talk
Key improvements in the sensitivity of direct dark matter search experiments can only be achieved if the radiation causing background events in detectors is well understood and proper measures are taken to suppress it.
The background radiation arising from radioactivity and cosmic-ray muons is discussed in this paper in connection with the sensitivity of large-scale experiments to direct dark...
Dr
Shin-Ted Lin
(Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica)
30/07/2010 11:15
Dark Matter Direct Searches
Talk
Experiments with sub-keV sensitivities open a window to search for WIMPs at the mass range of less than 10 GeV and for axions through resonant absorption. We will present data taken with a 500-g Point Contact Germanium detector at the Kuo-Sheng Neutrino Laboratory in 2009-2010, which improve over previous sensitivities [1]. A dedicated experiment is now under preparation at the new China...
Prof.
Laura Baudis
(Zurich)
30/07/2010 11:35
Dark Matter Direct Searches
Talk
DARWIN (DARk matter WImp search with Noble liquids) is a design study towards the realization of a ton to multi-ton scale dark matter facility in Europe, based on the liquid argon and liquid xenon time projection chamber technique. Approved by ASPERA in late 2009, DARWIN brings together several European and US groups working on the existing XENON, WARP and ArDM experiments with the goal of...
Jean-Luc Gauvreau
(Occidental College)
30/07/2010 11:55
Talk
Using a 10cm-long time projection chamber operating at 40 Torrs, we measured the mobility and diffusion of CS2- ions using pure CS2 and using mixtures where He, Ne, Ar and CF4 were added as a second gas. Measurements were made with electric fields varying from 40 to 600 V/cm. The electron temperature and drift velocity for all those mixtures and fileds were obtained from the code MAGBOLTZ. ...