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NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forum
Recent Results from the COUPP Dark Matter Search
Date: Thursday, February 2nd
Time: 2:30 pm
Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Andrew Sonnenschein, Fermilab
Abstract: Bubble chambers have emerged as promising detectors for Weakly Interacting Massive dark matter Particles (WIMPs). A very high degree of background discrimination can be achieved by tuning the thermodynamic parameters to avoid nucleation by electron recoils, while maintaining low nuclear-recoil thresholds. Nuclear recoils from WIMPs can be discriminated from alpha particle induced events by analysis of the acoustic pulses produced by the expanding bubbles. The COUPP collaboration operated a 4-kg CF3I bubble chamber at SNOLAB in 2010-2011 and is in the process of commissioning a 60-kg chamber. Initial data from SNOLAB demonstrate reduced alpha backgrounds and greatly improved sensitivity to WIMPs.
Host: Karsten Heeger
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