Abstract
The Boulby Dark Matter Collaboration (BDMC) is running a WIMP Dark Matter research programme in the underground laboratory of Boulby Mine. The two axes of the programme are based on (1) liquid Xenon (LXe) as the WIMP target and (2) directional detection in low pressure gas detectors. ZEPLIN-1 is a 3.1kg of LXe scintillation detector with a background discrimination based on Pulse Shape Analysis. A new limit from a preliminary analysis is presented. Further generation setups with improved background discrimination tools (as the ionisation is also recorded) are in construction. ZEPLIN-2 and ZEPLIN-3, are predicted to be sensitive to rate of 0.1-0.01 events/kg/day within 2 years of data, with fiducial masses of 30kg and 6kg, respectively. These are important steps towards the design of a tonne-scale LXe Dark Matter detector array. The DRIFT programme relies on discrimination by tracking and directionnal detection. This enables the measurement of any sidereal modulation, as the earth's rotation changes the flux angle of Galactic WIMPs. A low pressure 1m$^3$ chamber (DRIFT-1) is currently taking data underground. A setup for a bigger volume with increased spatial resolution (enabling the pressure, and hence the target mass to be increase) is in the designing process.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.