Presentation Title

The Snowball Chamber: A Supercooled Approach to Dark Matter Detection

Panel Name

The Climate, the Atmosphere and the Beyond

Location

Lecture Center 3C

Start Date

3-5-2019 4:15 PM

End Date

3-5-2019 5:00 PM

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Academic Major

Physics

Abstract

The cloud and bubble chambers have historically been used for particle detection, capitalizing on supersaturation and superheating respectively. We present now on the snowball chamber, which utilizes a supercooled liquid. In our prototypes, an incoming particle triggers crystallization of purified water. We demonstrate that water is supercooled for a significantly shorter time with respect to control data in the presence of AmBe and 252Cf neutron sources. A greater number of multiple nucleation sites are observed as well in neutron calibration data, as in a PICO-style bubble chamber. Similarly, gamma calibration data indicate a high degree of insensitivity to electron recoils inducing the phase transition, making this detector potentially ideal for dark matter searches seeking nuclear recoil alone. We will explore the possibility of using this new technology for that, updating everyone on new results that will be a prelude of our newest generation tests.

First Faculty Advisor

Dr. Matthew Szydagis

First Advisor Email

mszydagis@albany.edu

First Advisor Department

Physics

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May 3rd, 4:15 PM May 3rd, 5:00 PM

The Snowball Chamber: A Supercooled Approach to Dark Matter Detection

Lecture Center 3C

The cloud and bubble chambers have historically been used for particle detection, capitalizing on supersaturation and superheating respectively. We present now on the snowball chamber, which utilizes a supercooled liquid. In our prototypes, an incoming particle triggers crystallization of purified water. We demonstrate that water is supercooled for a significantly shorter time with respect to control data in the presence of AmBe and 252Cf neutron sources. A greater number of multiple nucleation sites are observed as well in neutron calibration data, as in a PICO-style bubble chamber. Similarly, gamma calibration data indicate a high degree of insensitivity to electron recoils inducing the phase transition, making this detector potentially ideal for dark matter searches seeking nuclear recoil alone. We will explore the possibility of using this new technology for that, updating everyone on new results that will be a prelude of our newest generation tests.