Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “WIMPs”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Dark matter detection capabilities of a large multipurpose Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers are planned to comprise a central role in the future of the U.S. High Energy Physics neutrino program. In particular, this detector technology will form the basis for the 40 kton Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) . Here in this paper we take as a starting point the dual phase far detector design proposed by the DUNE experiment and ask what changes are necessary to allow one of the four 10 kt modules to be sensitive to heavy Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter. We show that with control over backgrounds and the use of low radioactivity argon, which may be commercially available on that timescale, along with a significant increase in light detection, one DUNE-like module gives a competitive WIMP detection sensitivity, particularly above a dark matter mass of 100 GeV.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

A new hybrid gadolinium nanoparticles-loaded polymeric material for neutron detection in rare event searches

Experiments aimed at direct searches for WIMP dark matter require highly effective reduction of backgrounds and control of any residual radioactive contamination. In particular, neutrons interacting with atomic nuclei represent an important class of backgrounds due to the expected similarity of a WIMP-nucleon interaction, so that such experiments often feature a dedicated neutron detector surrounding the active target volume. In the context of the development of DarkSide-20k detector at INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), several R&D projects were conceived and developed for the creation of a new hybrid material rich in both hydrogen and gadolinium nuclei to be employed as an essential element of the neutron detector. Thanks to its very high cross-section for neutron capture, gadolinium is one of the most widely used elements in neutron detectors, while the hydrogen-rich material is instrumental in efficiently moderating the neutrons. In this paper results from one of the R&Ds are presented. In this effort the new hybrid material was obtained as a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix, loaded with gadolinium oxide in the form of nanoparticles. We describe its realization, including all phases of design, purification, construction, characterization, and determination of mechanical properties of the new material.

Dark Matter detectors (WIMPs, axions, etc.)↗
DOE OSTI2015

A SIMPLE Bubble Chamber for Dark Matter Searches: Testing and Development

SIMPLE (Superheated Instrument for Massive Particle Experiments) is one of only three experiments worldwide in search of evidence of astroparticle dark matter (WIMPs) using halocarbon-loaded superheated liquid (SHL) detectors. The 2012 Phase II SIMPLE measurements yielded the most restrictive exclusion contour in the spin-dependent (SD) sector of WIMP-proton interactions from a direct search experiment at the time, overlapping for the first time results previously obtained only indirectly [1]. In order to remain competitive with other experiments in the field, the next phase measurement requires larger exposure over shorter observation times with significantly improved neutron shielding. To increase exposure, SIMPLE plans, as a first step, to replace its superheated droplet detectors (SDDs), each containing an active mass of about 15 g of halocarbon, with bubble chambers capable of holding up to 20 kg of active halocarbon mass. We report on the development of the first 1 kg halocarbon SIMPLE bubble chamber prototype, including chamber recompression system design and testing and initial acoustic detection of bubble formation. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Detactability of Dark Matter Subhalos by Means of the GAMMA-400 Telescope

The potential of the planned GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope for detecting subhalos of mass between 10{sup 6}M{sub ⊙} and 10{sup 9}M{sub ⊙} in the Milky Way Galaxy that consist of annihilating dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) is studied. The inner structure of dark matter subhalos and their distribution in the Milky Way Galaxy are obtained on the basis of respective theoretical models. Our present analysis shows that the expected gamma-ray flux from subhalos depends strongly on the WIMP mass and on the subhalo concentration, but that it depends less strongly on the subhalo mass. Optimistically, a flux of 10 to 100 ph per year in the energy range above 100 MeV can be expected from the closest and most massive subhalos, which can therefore be thought to be detectable sources for GAMMA-400. Because of the smallness of fluxes, however, only via a joint analysis of future GAMMA-400 data and data from other telescopes would it become possible to resolve the inner structure of the subhalos. Also, the recent subhalo candidates 3FGL J2212.5+0703 and J1924.8–1034 are considered within our model. Our conclusion is that these sources hardly belong to the subhalo population.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Conceptual Design Report

The design and performance of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) detector is described as of March 2015 in this Conceptual Design Report. LZ is a second-generation dark-matter detector with the potential for unprecedented sensitivity to weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) of masses from a few GeV/c 2 to hundreds of TeV/c 2 . With total liquid xenon mass of about 10 tonnes, LZ will be the most sensitive experiment for WIMPs in this mass region by the end of the decade. This report describes in detail the design of the LZ technical systems. Expected backgrounds are quantified and the performance of the experiment is presented. The LZ detector will be located at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota. The organization of the LZ Project and a summary of the expected cost and current schedule are given.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Forbidden scalar dark matter and dark Higgses

As experimental searches for WIMP dark matter continue to yield null results, models beyond the WIMP paradigm have proliferated in order to elude ever improving observational constraints, among them that of sub-GeV dark matter mediated by a massive vector portal (a dark photon) associated with a new dark U(1) gauge symmetry. It has been previously noted that for a significant range of the parameter space of this class of models, the annihilation of dark matter particles into a pair of dark photons can dominate the freeze-out process even when this process is kinematically forbidden for dark matter at rest — this is known as the “forbidden dark matter” (FDM) regime. Prior studies of this regime, however, assume that any “dark Higgs” associated with breaking the dark U(1) and imparting mass to the dark photon is decoupled from the dark matter and as such plays no role in the freeze-out process. In this paper, we explore the effects of a dark Higgs on sub-GeV dark matter phenomenology in this FDM regime by considering the simplest possible construction in which there exist non-trivial dark matter-dark Higgs couplings: a model with a single complex scalar DM candidate coupled directly to the dark Higgs field. We find that for a wide range of parameter space, the dark Higgs can alter the resulting relic abundance by many orders of magnitude, and that this effect can remain significant even for a small dark matter-dark Higgs coupling constant. Considering measurements from direct detection and measurements of the CMB, we further find that points in this model’s parameter space which recreate the appropriate dark matter relic abundance suffer only mild constraints from other sources at present, but may become accessible in near-future direct detection experiments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Gamma-rays from dark showers with twin Higgs models

We consider a twin WIMP scenario whose twin sector contains a full dark copy of the SM hadrons, where the lightest twin particles are twin pions. By analogy to the standard WIMP paradigm, the dark matter (DM) freezes out through twin electroweak interactions, and annihilates into a dark shower of light twin hadrons. These are either stable or decay predominantly to standard model (SM) photons. We show that this ‘hadrosymmetric’ scenario can be consistent with all applicable astrophysical, cosmological and collider constraints. In order to decay the twin hadrons before the big-bang nucleosynthesis epoch, an additional portal between the SM and twin sector is required. In most cases we find this additional mediator is within reach of either the LHC or future intensity frontier experiments. Furthermore, we conduct simulations of the dark shower and consequent photon spectra. We find that fits of these spectra to the claimed galactic center gamma-ray excess seen by Fermi -LAT non-trivially coincide with regions of parameter space that both successfully generate the observed DM abundance and exhibit minimal fine-tuning.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The dark universe after reheating in string inflation

We study the production of dark matter and dark radiation after reheating in string inflation models where the Calabi-Yau has a fibred structure and the visible sector lives on D3 branes. We show how the interplay between different physical constraints from inflation, reheating, supersymmetry breaking and dark radiation, leads to distinct predictions for the nature of dark matter. In particular, in Fibre Inflation dark matter can only be primordial black holes or an open string QCD axion with an intermediate scale decay constant since WIMPs are always too heavy and ultralight closed string axions cannot behave as fuzzy dark matter due to strong isocurvature bounds. On the other hand, Kähler moduli inflation can allow for non-thermal WIMP dark matter at the TeV-scale.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radiogenic and muon-induced backgrounds in the LUX dark matter detector

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment aims to detect rare low-energy interactions from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The radiogenic backgrounds in the LUX detector have been measured and compared with Monte Carlo simulation. Measurements of LUX high-energy data have provided direct constraints on all background sources contributing to the background model. The expected background rate from the background model for the 85.3 day WIMP search run is (2.6±0.2 stat ±0.4 sys ) ×10 -3 events keV$ ee\atop{-1}$ kg -1 day -1 in a 118 kg fiducial volume. The observed background rate is (3.6±0.4 stat )×10 -3 events keV$ ee\atop{-1}$ kg -1 day -1 , consistent with model projections. The expectation for the radiogenic background in a subsequent one-year run is presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Measurement of the scintillation time spectra and pulse-shape discrimination of low-energy β and nuclear recoils in liquid argon with DEAP-1

The DEAP-1 low-background liquid argon detector has been used to measure scintillation pulse shapes of beta decays and nuclear recoil events and to demonstrate the feasibility of pulse-shape discrimination down to an electron-equivalent energy of 20 keV ee . The relative intensities of singlet/triplet states in liquid argon have been measured as a function of energy between 15 and 500 keVee for both beta and nuclear recoils. Using a triple-coincidence tag we find the fraction of beta events that are misidentified as nuclear recoils to be less than 6 x 10 -8 between 43-86 keV ee and that the discrimination parameter agrees with a simple analytic model. The discrimination measurement is currently limited by nuclear recoils induced by cosmic-ray generated neutrons, and is expected to improve by operating the detector underground at SNOLAB. The analytic model predicts a beta misidentification fraction of 10 -10 for an electron-equivalent energy threshold of 20 keV ee . This reduction allows for a sensitive search for spin-independent scattering of WIMPs from 1000 kg of liquid argon with a WIMP-nucleon cross-section sensitivity of 10 -46 cm 2 .

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Chromatographic separation of radioactive noble gases from xenon

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment operates at the Sanford Underground Research Facility to detect nuclear recoils from the hypothetical Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) on a liquid xenon target. Liquid xenon typically contains trace amounts of the noble radioactive isotopes 85 Kr and 39 Ar that are not removed by the in situ gas purification system. The decays of these isotopes at concentrations typical of research-grade xenon would be a dominant background for a WIMP search exmperiment. To remove these impurities from the liquid xenon, a chromatographic separation system based on adsorption on activated charcoal was built. 400 kg of xenon was processed, reducing the average concentration of krypton from 130 ppb to 3.5 ppt as measured by a cold-trap assisted mass spectroscopy system. Finally, a 50 kg batch spiked to 0.001 g/g of krypton was processed twice and reduced to an upper limit of 0.2 ppt.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2020

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment

We describe the design and assembly of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, a direct detection search for cosmic WIMP dark matter particles. The centerpiece of the experiment is a large liquid xenon time projection chamber sensitive to low energy nuclear recoils. Rejection of backgrounds is enhanced by a Xe skin veto detector and by a liquid scintillator Outer Detector loaded with gadolinium for efficient neutron capture and tagging. LZ is located in the Davis Cavern at the 4850’ level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. We describe the major subsystems of the experiment and its key design features and requirements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Model-independent Analyses of Dark-Matter Particle Interactions

A model-independent treatment of dark-matter particle elastic scattering has been developed, yielding the most general interaction for WIMP-nucleon low-energy scattering, and the resulting amplitude has been embedded into the nucleus, taking into account the selection rules imposed by parity and time-reversal. One finds that, in contrast to the usual spin-independent/spin-dependent (SI/SD) formulation, the resulting cross section contains six independent nuclear response functions, three of which are associated with possible velocity-dependent interactions. We find that current experiments are four orders of magnitude more sensitive to derivative couplings than is apparent in the standard SI/SD treatment, which necessarily associated such interactions with cross sections proportional to v 2 T ∼ 10 −6 , where v T is the WIMP velocity relative to the center of mass of the nuclear target.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Measurements of charge and light in pure high pressure Xe towards the study of Xe+TMA mixtures with dark matter directionality sensitivity and supra-intrinsic energy resolution for 0νββ decay searches

Trimethylamine (TMA) may improve the energy resolution of gaseous xenon based detectors for 0νββ decay searches through the reduction of the Fano factor by the Penning effect. This molecule may also be the key for sensing directionality of nuclear recoils induced by Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) in monolithic massive (ton-scale) detectors, without the need of track imaging, by making use of columnar recombination. Nuclear recoil directionality may be the path for a definite discovery of the WIMP nature of Dark Matter. An ionization chamber has been constructed and operated to explore the properties of high pressure gaseous Xe + TMA mixtures for particle detection in rare-event experiments. The ionization, scintillation and electroluminescence (EL) signals are measured as function of pressure and electric field. We present results for pure xenon at pressures up to 8 bar. This work has been carried out within the context of the NEXT collaboration.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

PICASSO, COUPP and PICO - Search for dark matter with bubble chambers

The PICASSO and COUPP collaborations use superheated liquid detectors to search for cold dark matter through the direct detection of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). These experiments, located in the underground laboratory of SNOLAB, Canada, detect phase transitions triggered by nuclear recoils in the keV range induced by interactions with WIMPs. We present details of the construction and operation of these detectors as well as the results, obtained by several years of observations. We also introduce PICO, a joint effort of the two collaborations to build a second generation ton-scale bubble chamber with 250 liters of active liquid.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Large low background kTon-scale liquid argon time projection chambers

Here we find that it is possible to increase sensitivity to low energy physics in a third or fourth Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)-like module with careful controls over radiopurity and targeted modifications to a detector similar to the DUNE Far Detector design. In particular, sensitivity to supernova and solar neutrinos can be enhanced with improved MeV-scale reach. A neutrinoless double beta decay search with 136 Xe loading appears feasible. Furthermore, sensitivity to Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) Dark Matter becomes competitive with the planned world program in such a detector, offering a unique seasonal variation detection that is characteristic of the nature of WIMPs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

First results on dark matter annihilation in the Sun using the ANTARES neutrino telescope

A search for high-energy neutrinos coming from the direction of the Sun has been performed using the data recorded by the ANTARES neutrino telescope during 2007 and 2008. The neutrino selection criteria have been chosen to maximize the selection of possible signals produced by the self-annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles accumulated in the centre of the Sun with respect to the atmospheric background. After data unblinding, the number of neutrinos observed towards the Sun was found to be compatible with background expectations. The 90% CL upper limits in terms of spin-dependent and spin-independent WIMP-proton cross-sections are derived and compared to predictions of two supersymmetric models, CMSSM and MSSM-7. The ANTARES limits are comparable with those obtained by other neutrino observatories and are more stringent than those obtained by direct search experiments for the spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross-section in the case of hard self-annihilation channels (W{sup +}W{sup −}, τ{sup +}τ{sup −})

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Gamma ray tests of Minimal Dark Matter

We reconsider the model of Minimal Dark Matter (a fermionic, hypercharge-less quintuplet of the EW interactions) and compute its gamma ray signatures. We compare them with a number of gamma ray probes: the galactic halo diffuse measurements, the galactic center line searches and recent dwarf galaxies observations. We find that the original minimal model, whose mass is fixed at 9.4 TeV by the relic abundance requirement, is constrained by the line searches from the Galactic Center: it is ruled out if the Milky Way possesses a cuspy profile such as NFW but it is still allowed if it has a cored one. Observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies are also relevant (in particular searches for lines), and ongoing astrophysical progresses on these systems have the potential to eventually rule out the model. We also explore a wider mass range, which applies to the case in which the relic abundance requirement is relaxed. Most of our results can be safely extended to the larger class of multi-TeV WIMP DM annihilating into massive gauge bosons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗