A new particle, the cosmion, has been proposed to be the dark matter of the universe and to explain the solar nu deficit by cooling the solar core to reduce B-8 nu production. Such cosmions in the ...galactic halo would scatter from nuclei in terrestrial detectors. Measurements were made in Si ionization detectors in a very-low-background environment down to energies of 1.1 keV. These results exclude nearly all of the mass range possible for cosmions with coherent nuclear interactions. (Author)
Results from the LUX dark matter experiment Horn, Markus; Akerib, D. S.; Araújo, H. M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
11/2014, Letnik:
784
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The LUX (Large Underground Xenon) experiment aims at the direct detection of dark matter particles via their collisions with xenon nuclei. The 370 kg two-phase liquid xenon time projection chamber ...measures simultaneously the scintillation and ionization from interactions in the target. The ratio of these two signals provides very good discrimination between potential nuclear recoil and electronic recoil signals to search for WIMP-nucleon scattering. The LUX detector operates at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota, USA) since February 2013. Of note, first results were presented in late 2013 setting the world's most stringent limits on WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-sections over a wide range of WIMP masses. A 300 day run beginning in 2014 will further improve the sensitivity and new calibration techniques will reduce systematics for the WIMP signal search.
We present the results from combining machine learning with the profile likelihood fit procedure, using data from the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment. This approach demonstrates ...reduction in computation time by a factor of 30 when compared with the previous approach, without loss of performance on real data. We establish its flexibility to capture non-linear correlations between variables (such as smearing in light and charge signals due to position variation) by achieving equal performance using pulse areas with and without position-corrections applied. Its efficiency and scalability furthermore enables searching for dark matter using additional variables without significant computational burden. We demonstrate this by including a light signal pulse shape variable alongside more traditional inputs such as light and charge signal strengths. This technique can be exploited by future dark matter experiments to make use of additional information, reduce computational resources needed for signal searches and simulations, and make inclusion of physical nuisance parameters in fits tractable.
Dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC) detectors have demonstrated superior search sensitivities to dark matter over a wide range of particle masses. To extend their sensitivity to include ...low-mass dark matter interactions, it is critical to characterize both the light and charge responses of liquid xenon to sub-keV nuclear recoils. In this work, we report a new nuclear recoil calibration in the LUX detector \(\textit{in situ}\) using neutron events from a pulsed Adelphi Deuterium-Deuterium neutron generator. We demonstrate direct measurements of light and charge yields down to 0.45 keV (1.4 scintillation photons) and 0.27 keV (1.3 ionization electrons), respectively, approaching the physical limit of liquid xenon detectors. We discuss the implication of these new measurements on the physics reach of dual-phase xenon TPCs for nuclear-recoil-based low-mass dark matter detection.
Various dark matter models predict annual and diurnal modulations of dark matter interaction rates in Earth-based experiments as a result of the Earth’s motion in the halo. Observation of such ...features can provide generic evidence for detection of dark matter interactions. This paper reports a search for both annual and diurnal rate modulations in the LUX dark matter experiment using over 20 calendar months of data acquired between 2013 and 2016. This search focuses on electron recoil events at low energies, where leptophilic dark matter interactions are expected to occur and where the DAMA experiment has observed a strong rate modulation for over two decades. By using the innermost volume of the LUX detector and developing robust cuts and corrections, we obtained a stable event rate of 2.3±0.2 cpd/keVee/tonne, which is among the lowest in all dark matter experiments. No statistically significant annual modulation was observed in energy windows up to 26 keVee. Between 2 and 6 keVee, this analysis demonstrates the most sensitive annual modulation search up to date, with 9.2σ tension with the DAMA/LIBRA result. We also report no observation of diurnal modulations above 0.2 cpd/keVee/tonne amplitude between 2 and 6 keVee.
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±0.2stat±0.4sys) ×10-3 events keV$ ee\atop{-1}$ kg-1 day-1 in a 118 kg fiducial volume. The observed background rate is (3.6±0.4stat)×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.
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±0.2stat±0.4sys) ×10-3 events keV$ ee\atop{-1}$ kg-1 day-1 in a 118 kg fiducial volume. The observed background rate is (3.6±0.4stat)×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.
We report here the results of an Effective Field Theory (EFT) WIMP search analysis using LUX data. We build upon previous LUX analyses by extending the search window to include nuclear recoil ...energies up to \(\sim\)180 keV\(_{nr}\), requiring a reassessment of data quality cuts and background models. In order to use a binned Profile Likelihood statistical framework, the development of new analysis techniques to account for higher-energy backgrounds was required. With a 3.14\(\times10^4\) kg\(\cdot\)day exposure using data collected between 2014 and 2016, we set 90\% C.L. exclusion limits on non-relativistic EFT WIMP couplings to neutrons and protons, providing the most stringent constraints on a significant fraction of the possible EFT WIMP interactions. Additionally, we report world-leading exclusion limits on inelastic EFT WIMP-nucleon recoils.
PDF
