Abstract
Although the existence of dark matter is supported by many evidences, based on astrophysical measurements, its nature is still completely unknown. One major candidate is represented by weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which could in principle be detected through their collisions with ordinary nuclei in a sensitive target, producing observable low-energy (<100 keV) nuclear recoils. The DarkSide program aims at the WIPMs detection using a liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr-TPC). In this paper we quickly review the DarkSide program focusing in particular on the next generation experiment DarkSide-G2, a 3.6-ton LAr-TPC. The different detector components are described as well as the improvements needed to scale the detector from DarkSide-50 (50 kg LAr-TPC) up to DarkSide-G2. Finally, the preliminary results on background suppression and expected sensitivity are presented.
Highlights
A wide range of astronomical evidence implies the existence of dark matter, but as yet the nature of this major component of the universe is completely unknown
These include cryogenic bolometers with ionization or scintillation detection (CDMS [5], EDELWEISS [6], and CRESST [7]), sodium/cesium iodide scintillation detectors (DAMA/LIBRA [8] and KIMS [9]), bubble chambers (PICASSO [10] and COUPP [11]), a point contact germanium detector (CoGeNT [12]), detectors using liquid xenon (XENON [13], ZEPLIN [14], LUX [15], and XMASS [16]), and detectors using liquid argon
We describe the promising results obtained with a 10 kg prototype, the current commissioning of an experiment with a 50 kg time projection chambers (TPCs), and the ongoing R&D for DarkSide-G2, the final multiton detector
Summary
A wide range of astronomical evidence implies the existence of dark matter, but as yet the nature of this major component of the universe is completely unknown. These include cryogenic bolometers with ionization or scintillation detection (CDMS [5], EDELWEISS [6], and CRESST [7]), sodium/cesium iodide scintillation detectors (DAMA/LIBRA [8] and KIMS [9]), bubble chambers (PICASSO [10] and COUPP [11]), a point contact germanium detector (CoGeNT [12]), detectors using liquid xenon (XENON [13], ZEPLIN [14], LUX [15], and XMASS [16]), and detectors using liquid argon (miniCLEAN [17], DEAP [18], ArDM [19], and the experiment described in this paper, DarkSide) These detectors all share the common goal of achieving the low detection threshold energy required to observe the collisions of WIMPs with target nuclei and the low background to identify these extremely rare events as being from nonstandard sources. We describe the promising results obtained with a 10 kg prototype, the current commissioning of an experiment with a 50 kg TPC, and the ongoing R&D for DarkSide-G2, the final multiton detector
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