Particle Astrophysics at Yale: The LUX Dark Matter Search

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

The nature of Dark matter is one of the most compelling mysteries in fundamental science today. While there is convincing evidence that Dark Matter pervades the Universe, it has not been detected directly and its nature remains unknown. One possibility is that dark matter is composed of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is a highly sensitive two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon experiment designed to detect WIMPs. At a WIMP mass of 100 GeV, LUX will be the most sensitive operating experiment. This award will support the group at Yale University. This group is responsible for several crucial subsystems, including the xenon purification and gas handling system, the 100 kilovolt cathode high voltage delivery system, the xenon recovery system, and radioactive sources and source manipulators for detector calibration. The Yale group has also developed a method of calibrating liquid xenon detectors using metastable krypton atoms dissolved in the liquid xenon, and has performed a new measurement of the scintillation efficiency and charge yield for nuclear recoils. The Yale group is highly engaged in LUX data processing and analysis. Broader Impact: Technology developments related to liquid xenon can be used in an increasing number of experiments worldwide that use noble liquids as detection materials. These projects will result in technical training in radiation detection, cryogenics, and gas purification for graduate and undergraduate students.