Results from sub-GeV dark matter searches and high voltage breakdown studies in liquid argon and xenon

Abstract: 

Sub-GeV WIMP dark matter (DM) is usually difficult to probe using liquid xenon
detectors due to a small energy transfer in DM-nucleus interactions and a finite
detector threshold. However, two novel direct detection methods overcome this
limitation: the Bremsstrahlung and Migdal effects allow us to consider electron recoils
that accompany the standard DM-nucleus scattering, thereby extending the reach to
lower DM masses. I will present constraints on DM-nucleon scattering using data
acquired in 2013 by the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment. Looking ahead,
the increasingly large noble liquid detectors are facing challenges with applications of
high voltage (HV). The Xenon Breakdown Apparatus (XeBrA) at the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory was built to characterize the HV behavior of liquid xenon and liquid
argon. Results from XeBrA serve not only to improve our understanding of the physical
processes involved in the breakdown but also to inform the future of noble liquid
detector engineering and neutrinoless double beta decay searches.

Speaker : 

Lucie Tvrznikova, Phd (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)

Location: 

Presentation at 3:45 PM, NPL 178 Coffee and cookies starting at 3:30 PM

Material: