Conveners
Parallel 2C - Direct detection II
- Christian Strandhagen (Eberhards Karls Universiy Tubingen (DE))
Parallel 2C - Direct detection II
- Alexander Fuss
We revisit and improve on previous calculations of the Migdal effect, the excitation and ionisation of atoms after a neutral particle scatters off the nucleus. We present results for the noble elements, and also carbon and fluorine. Our improved calculations are particularly import for neutron scattering experiments, which aim to test the Migdal effect in the laboratory. In this case,...
The atomic Migdal effect is increasingly invoked to extend the sensitivity of direct dark matter searches to light WIMPs, in a regime where nuclear recoils produce no detectable signature but the accompanying Migdal electron emission is in principle detectable. Despite this, this elusive effect has never been measured in nuclear scattering. The Migdal In Galactic Dark mAtter expLoration...
I present qBounce using the novel high precision method of Gravity Resonance Spectroscopy (GRS) using Ramseys method of separated oscillating fields.
It utilises ultracold neutrons bound to the surface of a mirror by gravity. Because of the zero charge and low polarizability of the neutron, this system is insensitive to many external influences. In 2018, the first proof of principle of GRS...
The ANDROMeDa (Aligned Nanotube Detector for Research On MeV Darkmatter) project aims to develop a novel Dark Matter (DM) detector based on carbon nanotubes: the Dark-PMT. The detector is designed to be sensitive to DM particles with mass between 1 MeV and 1 GeV. The detection scheme is based on DM-electron scattering inside a target made of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes. Carbon...
We introduce a new dark-matter detection experiment that will enable the search of keV-range super-light dark matter, representing an improvement of the minimum detectable mass by more than three orders of magnitude over the ongoing experiments. This is possible by integrating intimately the target material, π-bond electrons in graphene, into a Josephson junction to achieve a high sensitivity...
As the age of WIMP-scale dark matter (DM) draws to a close thanks to the ever-increasing sensitivity of direct detection experiments, the majority of DM parameter space outside of the weak scale remains to be explored. Sub-GeV DM can excite electronic transitions in a variety of molecular and nano-scale systems which have sub-eV scale thresholds. Quantum dots are nanocrystals of semiconducting...
Dark matter (DM) detectors employing a Spherical Proportional Counter (SPC) have demonstrated a single-electron detection threshold and are projected to have small background rates. We explore the sensitivity to DM-electron scattering with SPC detectors in the context of DarkSphere, a proposal for a 300 cm diameter fully-electroformed SPC. SPCs can run with different gases, so we investigate...
The DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 experiment deep underground at Gran Sasso is presented. The improved experimental configuration with respect to the phase1 allowed a lower software energy threshold. The DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 data confirm the evidence of a signal that meets all the requirements of the model independent Dark Matter annual modulation signature, at high C.L. Recently additional data have been...
In this talk I want to overview the (unorthodox) scenario when the baryogenesis is replaced by a charge segregation process in which the global baryon number of the Universe remains zero. In this, the so-called axion quark nugget (AQN) dark matter model the unobserved antibaryons come to comprise the dark matter in the form of dense nuggets. I specifically discuss the applications to the
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DAMA/LIBRA observation of an annual modulation in the detection rate compatible with that expected for dark matter particles from the galactic halo has accumulated evidence for more than twenty years. It is the only hint about a positive identification of the dark matter, but it is in strong tension with the negative results of other very sensitive experiments. However, this comparison is...
Dark matter is a main ingredient of the cosmos, its nature, despite of enormous progress in terrestrial direct dark matter searches, is still undiscovered. The DAMA/LIBRA claim creates since more than 25 years a controversial situation in the field of direct dark matter detection. Most prominently, results from phase 2 add new constraints since they imply that any interpretation of DAMA in...
NaI(Tl) based scintillation detectors have become a staple in the field of direct dark matter searches, with the DAMA-LIBRA experiment being the standout for its reported observation which is in direct contrast with other results. In order to accurately calibrate the energies of WIMP-induced nuclear recoil signals and conclusively rule out the parameter space covered by DAMA/LIBRA, precise...
For nearly two decades the DAMA Collaboration has been observing a modulating signal compatible with that expected from a dark matter presence in our galaxy. However, interpretations of this with the standard assumptions for dark matter particles are strongly ruled out by a large number of other experiments. This tension can be relaxed somewhat by making more tailored choices for the dark...
The SABRE (Sodium-iodide with Active Background REjection) South experiment is a direct dark matter search detector, made of radio-pure NaI(Tl) crystals surrounded by a liquid scintillator veto. The achievement of ultra-low background rate is essential to provide a model independent test of the signal observed by the DAMA/LIBRA experiment whose claim has not been verified yet.
The SABRE...
The SABRE project aims to produce ultra-low background NaI(Tl) scintillating detectors to carry out a model-independent search for dark matter through the annual modulation signature, with an unprecedented sensitivity to confirm or refute the DAMA/LIBRA claim. The ultimate goal of SABRE is to operate two independent NaI(Tl) crystal arrays located in the northern (SABRE North) and southern...
