Ústav technické a experimentální fyziky Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics

Dark matter search results from the PICO-60 CF3I bubble chamber

NázevTitle
Dark matter search results from the PICO-60 CF3I bubble chamberDark matter search results from the PICO-60 CF3I bubble chamber
Druh výsledkuResult type
Článek v časopiseJournal article
AutořiAuthors
C Amole, M Ardid, R. Filgas, I. Štekl, JI Collar, al. et
DOIDOI
10.1103/PhysRevD.93.052014
Časopis / citaceJournal / citation
Physical Review D. 2016, 93(5), ISSN 2470-0010.
RokYear
2016
JazykLanguage
eng
WoSWoS
000372800700002
ScopusScopus
2-s2.0-84962388439
RIVRIV
RIV/68407700:21670/16:00242705!RIV17-MSM-21670___
ProjektProject
Podzemní laboratoř LSM (Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, Francie) - český příspěvek do výzkumné infrastruktury evropského významuUnderground laboratory LSM (Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, Francie) - Czech contribution to research infrastructure of European level

AbstraktAbstract

New data are reported from the operation of the PICO-60 dark matter detector, a bubble chamber filled with 36.8 kg of CF3I and located in the SNOLAB underground laboratory. PICO-60 is the largest bubble chamber to search for dark matter to date. With an analyzed exposure of 92.8 livedays, PICO-60 exhibits the same excellent background rejection observed in smaller bubble chambers. Alpha decays in PICO-60 exhibit frequency-dependent acoustic calorimetry, similar but not identical to that reported recently in a C3F8 bubble chamber. PICO-60 also observes a large population of unknown background events, exhibiting acoustic, spatial, and timing behaviors inconsistent with those expected from a dark matter signal. These behaviors allow for analysis cuts to remove all background events while retaining 48.2% of the exposure. Stringent limits on weakly interacting massive particles interacting via spin-dependent proton and spin-independent processes are set, and most interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA modulation signal as dark matter interacting with iodine nuclei are ruled out.

New data are reported from the operation of the PICO-60 dark matter detector, a bubble chamber filled with 36.8 kg of CF3I and located in the SNOLAB underground laboratory. PICO-60 is the largest bubble chamber to search for dark matter to date. With an analyzed exposure of 92.8 livedays, PICO-60 exhibits the same excellent background rejection observed in smaller bubble chambers. Alpha decays in PICO-60 exhibit frequency-dependent acoustic calorimetry, similar but not identical to that reported recently in a C3F8 bubble chamber. PICO-60 also observes a large population of unknown background events, exhibiting acoustic, spatial, and timing behaviors inconsistent with those expected from a dark matter signal. These behaviors allow for analysis cuts to remove all background events while retaining 48.2% of the exposure. Stringent limits on weakly interacting massive particles interacting via spin-dependent proton and spin-independent processes are set, and most interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA modulation signal as dark matter interacting with iodine nuclei are ruled out.