eHEP Seminars and Events Past Events 2022 / 9
30
Sep
2022
1 p.m.
- 2 p.m.
MP 1115
Harold Douglas Pinckney
Progress Towards HeRALD: The Helium Roton Apparatus for Light Dark Matter
The HeRALD experiment uses the unique properties of superfluid 4He to study dark matter-nucleon scattering in the sub-GeV mass range. This talk will show progress towards the observation of the quantum evaporation signal using an athermal phonon detector and will discuss HeRALD's R&D program with an emphasis on the helium and materials physics to refine the detector and push the nuclear recoil detection threshold as low as possible.
23
Sep
2022
1 p.m.
- 2 p.m.
MP 1115
Matthew Bressler
Bubble Chambers: the Old New Detector Technology
Seventy years after their invention, bubble chambers continue to prove useful for exploring the boundaries of our knowledge of particle physics. In this talk, I will present a short history of bubble chambers and motivation for their use in dark matter search experiments, then focus on challenges and successes of pushing them to lower nuclear recoil detection thresholds while maintaining control of backgrounds, and finally conclude with some projections for upcoming experiments.
16
Sep
2022
1 p.m.
- 2 p.m.
MP 1115
Yan Liu
Neutron-proton capture cross section measurement using the SNO+ detector
Experimental neutrino physics has come a long way since the first detection of antineutrinos in 1956. Significant technical advancements (e.g. lower energy threshold, better energy resolution) have created unique opportunities for other fields of physics, such as nuclear physics. This talk shows how the thermal neutron capture (on proton) cross section was measured using the SNO+ detector. This measurement in SNO+ also paves the way to the first observation of antineutrinos in pure water.