Bonn 2010 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help
T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik
T 107: Niederenergie-Neutrinophysik und Suche nach dunkler Materie I
T 107.2: Group Report
Monday, March 15, 2010, 17:05–17:25, HG XI
Direct dark matter search with the XENON100 experiment — •Teresa Marrodán Undagoitia — Universität Zürich, Schweiz
During the last years, liquid noble gases have proven a great potential as detector medium for dark matter searches. Among them, xenon has the advantage of combining a high WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particle) sensitivity with an excellent self-shielding capability for background reduction. A common technique, which has been demonstrated e.g. by the XENON10 experiment, is to employ a two-phase TPC (Time Projection Chamber), where the produced light and charge is detected by photomultiplier tubes.
XENON100 is a 65 kg active volume detector placed at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy. Currently (autumn 2009), the detector is being commissioned. Due to its low-radioactivity materials (designed for 10 mDRU) and its large mass, it would be able to reach a sensitivity for the WIMP-nucleon cross section of 2· 10−45 cm2 at 100 GeV WIMP mass. In this talk, the status of the experiment will be reviewed.
This work is supported by the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.