Winter Nuclear Particle Physics (WNPPC) 2018

Session

Session #3

16 Feb 2018, 19:00

53. Dark matter searches at SNOLAB [INVITED]

Prof. Marie-Cécile Piro (University of Alberta)

16/02/2018, 19:00

Understanding the nature of Dark Matter is the Holy Grail for many physicists. While the answer to this fundamental question still eludes the scientific community, it could well result in unique proof of physics beyond the Standard Model. Direct detection searches are currently the most powerful way to solve this long lasting mystery. Over the last decade, dark matter detection techniques...

25. The NEWS-G Direct Dark Matter Search Experiment: First Results and Outlook (student talk)

Mr Daniel Durnford (Queen's University)

16/02/2018, 19:30

The NEWS-G direct dark matter search experiment employs spherical proportional counters (SPCs) with light noble gases as target media to search for low-mass WIMPs. We report on the results of a 42 kg.day physics run with a 60 cm diameter SPC and a neon target, operated at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane. World leading constraints on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross...

11. Calibration of SuperCDMS* Dark Matter Detectors for Low-Mass WIMPs (student talk)

Ms Danika MacDonell (University of British Columbia)

16/02/2018, 19:45

Observational evidence indicates that $\sim$85% of all mass in the universe takes the form of non-baryonic dark matter. The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) is a direct-detection dark matter experiment that searches primarily for a plausible dark matter candidate known as the weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP). The experiment looks for an excess of nuclear recoil events...

49. The DEAP-3600 Muon Veto System (student talk)

Mr Andrew Erlandson (Carleton University)

16/02/2018, 20:00

DEAP-3600 is a single-phase liquid argon (LAr) dark matter detector located $\sim$2 km ($\sim$6000 mwe) underground at SNOLAB near Sudbury, Ontario. Recently, DEAP-3600 published results on 4.44 live-days of data in which a leading limit on the spin-independent interaction cross section for 100 GeV/c Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) on ${}^{40}$Ar was found. In order to achieve...

38. Dark Matter Search Results of the PICO experiment in the Effective Field Theory Context (student talk)

Mr Arthur Plante (Université de Montréal)

16/02/2018, 20:15

Dark matter direct detection experiments have been traditionally reporting their results in terms of limits on the spin-independent and spin-dependent cross sections. However, these two types of interactions are only a subset of possible interactions between WIMPs and nucleons. The full set of couplings can be derived in the effective field theory (EFT) framework. In this approach “new"...

45. Characterization of superheated fluids in PICO-0.1 bubble chamber for the search of Dark Matter (student talk)

Mr Frédéric Tardif (University of Montreal)

16/02/2018, 20:45

Search for direct detection of dark matter has become more and more precise, and it is essential to understand perfectly how our detectors behave when interacting with ordinary matter, in order to potentially see interactions with dark matter. In the case of the PICO experiment, the behaviour of the superheated fluids used as active mass in the detectors is a key component of the...

21. Improving the Optics and Fiducial Volume of the PICO Bubble Chamber Dark Matter Detector (student talk)

Clarke Hardy (Queen's University)

16/02/2018, 21:00

PICO is an ongoing experiment at SNOLAB, the underground laboratory at Vale’s Creighton mine near Sudbury, Ontario. The purpose of PICO is to detect dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles using superheated C3F8 in which bubbles form when sufficient energy is added in the form of a nuclear recoil. The active fluid is contained in a quartz jar within a larger pressure...

32. PICO-40, an important step towards a ton-scale spin-dependent dark matter search experiment at SNOLAB

Mr Mathieu Laurin (Université de Montréal)

16/02/2018, 21:15

The PICO collaboration is one of the leaders in the field of dark matter searches. As of today, it has built several bubble chambers of increasing active mass and sensitivity, with PICO-60 being the largest of the series to date, containing 40 L of superheated C${}_3$F${}_8$. Despite the great success of PICO-60, some important design changes are needed in order to realize the next generation...

23. PICO-40L Calibration Simulation and Analysis Techniques using Machine Learning (student talk)

Ms Gevy Cao (Queen's University)

16/02/2018, 21:30

PICO is a dark matter experiment using superheated liquid to detect particle interactions. PICO-40L is a detector with a novel design of a Right-Side-Up chamber, placed inside a large pressure vessel, immersed in a water tank. Radioactive source calibrations are essential to identify background events. In the presentation, I will show the results from detector simulations for PICO-40L...