Speaker
Description
DarkSide-20k is a next-generation multi-ton dark matter experiment currently being built at the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS). Building on the success of the DarkSide-50 detector, which has been in operation since 2015, DarkSide-20k will feature a dual-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with a 20-tonne fiducial mass (50-tonne active), designed to achieve unprecedented sensitivity in direct dark matter detection. The experiment incorporates advanced technologies essential for large-scale dark matter searches, including ultra-low-radioactivity underground argon (depleted of ³⁹Ar) and large-area cryogenic Silicon Photomultipliers with custom, compact electronics for light detection. Additionally, a global radiopurity assay program is in place to ensure minimal background contamination in construction materials. The TPC will be housed inside a membrane cryostat containing over 700 tonnes of liquid argon and surrounded by an active neutron veto. DarkSide-20k aims to achieve a WIMP-nucleon cross-section exclusion sensitivity of 7.4×10⁻⁴⁸ cm² for a 1 TeV/c² WIMP over a 200 tonne-year exposure, with no instrumental backgrounds. This presentation will provide updates on the ongoing construction, prototype testing, and validation of the detector design through Monte Carlo simulations.
| Collaboration(s) | DarkSide |
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