22–26 Jun 2015
Paraninfo, Universidad de Zaragoza
Europe/Berlin timezone

Dark matter searches with the LUX detector

22 Jun 2015, 11:20
25m
Aula Magna (Paraninfo, Universidad de Zaragoza)

Aula Magna

Paraninfo, Universidad de Zaragoza

Plaza Basilio Paraiso 4, 50004 Zaragoza

Speaker

Paolo Beltrame (University of Edinburgh)

Description

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is a 350kg liquid xenon time projection chamber (TPC) designed to directly detect galactic dark matter. Currently deployed 1 mile underground in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, LUX completed its first physics run in 2013 collecting 85.3 live-days of science data. The profile-likelihood based analysis has shown no evidence for signal, setting the best limit on spin independent WIMP-nucleon cross section with a minimum of 7.6 × 10^-46 cm2 for WIMP mass of 33 GeV/c^2 at 90% CL. LUX is presently conducting a 300-day data set. We will present the present run status together with details of new calibrations and improvements to data analysis. Although optimised to detect weakly interacting massive particles, this Xe based TPC is particularly suitable for exploration of alternative dark matter scenarios - for example spin-dependent WIMP interaction, effective field theory approaches, axions and axion-like particles. The present status of these searches will also be presented.

Primary author

Paolo Beltrame (University of Edinburgh)

Presentation materials