|
QSpace at Queen's University >
Theses, Dissertations & Graduate Projects >
Queen's Theses & Dissertations >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1974/5323
|
| Title: | A New and Improved Spin-Dependent Dark Matter Exclusion Limit Using the PICASSO Experiment |
| Authors: | Clark, Kenneth |
|
|
| Keywords: | dark matter
neutralino
direct detection
wimp |
| Issue Date: | 2009 |
| Series/Report no.: | Canadian theses |
| Abstract: | The PICASSO project is a direct dark matter search experiment located 2070 metres underground in SNOLAB. Superheated droplets of Freon (C4F10) are used as the active mass, providing a target for the incoming neutralinos. Recoiling nuclei deposit energy in the superheated Freon droplets, triggering a phase transition, the pressure waves of which can be detected using piezo-electric sensors.
Previously published limits using an exposure of 1.98 +/- 0.19 kg day obtained a peak spin-dependent cross section exclusion limit for neutralino-proton interactions of 1.31 pb at a neutralino mass of 29 GeV/c^2 at a 90% confidence level. Improvements in the detectors installed in the underground experiment have provided 20.99 +/- 0.25 kg day for analysis and improvements in the analysis method have produced an exclusion limit of 2.9 X 10^(-2) pb at a neutralino mass of 16.7 GeV/c^2.
In addition, a thorough study of the backgrounds, corrections and systematic uncertainties has been included, indicating that this limit does not exceed 3.5 X 10^(-2) pb when considering the one sigma error on the uncertainty band. |
| Description: | Thesis (Ph.D, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-29 11:42:31.428 |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1974/5323 |
| Appears in Collections: | Queen's Theses & Dissertations
Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy Graduate Theses
|
Items in QSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
|
