Browsing Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy Graduate Theses by Subject "Dark Matter"
Now showing items 1-16 of 16
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Alpha backgrounds in the DEAP dark matter search experiment.
(2012-08-10)One of the pressing concerns in Dark Matter detection experiments is ensuring that the potential signal from exceedingly rare Dark Matter interactions is not obscured by background from interactions with more common ... -
Calibration of Infrared Photons in Cryogenic Germanium Detectors
A significant evidence from galaxies and astrophysical observations, suggests that ~ 85% of the matter in our Universe is invisible matter. The observations of the so-called “dark matter” suggest that it consists of ... -
Characterization of Pulse–Shape Discrimination for Background Reduction in the DEAP-1 Detector
(2009-02-02)DEAP (Dark Matter Experiment with Argon and Pulse Shape Discrimination) is an experiment that aims to directly detect dark matter particles via nuclear recoils in liquid argon. The experiment uses the scintillation ... -
Detector Development and Test Facility Commissioning for SuperCDMS
(2011-06-06)SuperCDMS, the next stage of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS), uses cylindrical germa- nium crystals as particle detectors to measure phonon and ionization signals resulting from particle interactions. The aim of ... -
Electron Recoils In the PICO Direct Dark Matter Detection Experiment
The PICO-40L bubble chamber for direct dark matter detection is finishing the commissioning phase at SNOLAB. The detector will operate for 1 live year before being replaced by the next-generation detector, PICO-500. The ... -
Gamma Calibration Using A New Test Apparatus At Queen’s University And Optimization Analyses For The PICASSO Experiment
(2009-09-26)The PICASSO experiment located 2 km underground in SNOLAB is directly searching for dark matter signals by looking for interactions between dark matter particles and an active target made of superheated droplets of freon ... -
Identification and Reduction of the Alpha Background, From 238U and 232Th Decay Chains, in the DEAP-3600 Experiment.
Different cosmological and astronomical observations from the past century indicate that non-baryonic matter, commonly referred to as dark matter, dominates the composition of the universe. Discovering the nature and ... -
An Investigation of Backgrounds in the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiment
(2013-10-11)Astronomical and cosmological observations reveal that the majority of the matter in our universe is made of an unknown, non-luminous substance called dark matter. Many experimental attempts are underway to directly detect ... -
An Investigation of the Effects of Wavelength Shifter Thickness on Backgrounds for the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiment
Several lines of astronomical evidence indicate that most of the matter in our universe is made of non-luminous material known as dark matter, the nature of which remains a mystery. DEAP-3600 is a liquid-argon-based ... -
On the Development of the Wavelength Shifter Deposition System for the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Search Experiment
(2015-11-03)The DEAP-3600 dark matter search experiment uses 3600 kilograms of liquid argon as a target medium contained in a spherical acrylic vessel. Particle interactions in liquid argon produce vacuum ultraviolet light at a peak ... -
Optimization of spherical proportional counter backgrounds and response for low mass dark matter search
The NEWS-G collaboration uses Spherical Proportional Counters to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP). The first detector developed for this goal is a 60 cm diameter sphere installed at the Laboratoire ... -
Phenomenological Studies and Analysis Techniques to Search for Light Dark Matter With NEWS-G
The NEWS-G collaboration uses gas-filled Spherical Proportional Counters (SPCs) to search for low-mass dark matter. As one of several competing collaborations pushing the low-energy frontier of particle detection technology, ... -
The PICO-2L program: Towards Background-Free Dark Matter Direct Detection Using Bubble Chambers
The PICO-2L program commenced in 2013 with the deployment of a 2 litre bubble chamber filled with superheated C3F8 and over the next three years, conducted two separate WIMP-search experiments. The first run was conducted ... -
Rejecting Outer Radius Backgrounds in SuperCDMS High Voltage Dark Matter Searches
SuperCDMS searches for Dark Matter in the form of WIMPs. SuperCDMS is able to reject most common background events by discriminating between electron and nuclear recoils. In the CDMS low ionization threshold experiment ... -
Simulations of Scale-Free Cosmologies for the Small-Scale Cold Dark Matter Universe
(2009-09-26)Cosmological simulations show that dark matter halos contain a wealth of substructure. These subhalos are assumed have a mass distribution that extends down to the smallest mass in the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) hierarchy, ... -
Simulations of the Muon Veto and Background Expectations for the PICO500 Dark Matter Experiment
PICO500 is an upcoming dark matter experiment searching for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter. The experiment is a 500L bubble chamber and is currently in the design phase. This thesis presents simulations ...