S. MacKenzie | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Measurement of the muon flux at SNOLAB using the DEAP-3600 experiment

A direct measurement of the muon flux at SNOLAB is performed using the DEAP-3600 experiment, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB near Sudbury, Canada. Primarily designed for the direct detection of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a dark matter candidate, DEAP-3600 consists of an inner spherical acrylic vessel containing a liquid argon target; this vessel is enclosed within a steel shell which is submerged in an instrumented water tank, serving as a muon veto for the dark matter search. The muon flux measurement is performed using a cut-and-count analysis of events observed in the muon veto detector and of events which are coincident between the muon veto and the liquid argon target. The requirement that muons traverse both the water and liquid argon minimizes instrumental backgrounds and systematic uncertainties. Using data collected from November 2016 to March 2020, the muon flux is measured by this coincidence analysis to be $(3.71 \pm 0.25_{\textrm{stat}} \pm 0.09_{\textrm{sys}}) \times 10^{-10}\, \mu/$cm$^2$/s. The standalone measurement using muon veto data only is compatible within uncertainties. Both measurements agree with the previous result by the SNO experiment and with simulations carried out using the MUTE software. These results provide an important benchmark for future rare-event searches at the SNOLAB facility.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Community need for an Astrobiology Sample Repository and Sample Reference Suite

As we prepare for the next planetary mission charged with finding life beyond Earth, the Astrobiology community must continue to improve its understanding of what constitutes a biosignature, through the use of planetary analog samples. The study of these collected and generated samples is expanding our knowledge of what constitutes habitable environments, what life is capable of, and importantly, how to make biosignature detections within compositionally complex samples - aiding in the development of life detection instrumentation. And yet the full potential of these samples remains untapped. While the Astrobiology community possesses an incredible inventory of planetary analog samples, some incredibly precious, these are scattered across the country in individual freezers with varying degrees of documentation, curation practices, and contamination control. We, as a community, need to change the status quo of how we approach planetary analog research. One of the biggest actions we could take over the next 10 years to change that paradigm would be the creation of a sample repository for Astrobiology relevant materials, providing a centralized, well-curated, wealth of precious samples for the community. Such a collection would create a framework for material and meta-data submission that minimizes burden on the individual PIs, satisfying open data requirements; it would facilitate biosignature research, and aid in the creation of a robust life detection framework; support the development of a standardized sample reference suite for life detection instrumentation; and finally, aid in the development of techniques to be used for future sample return endeavors.

astro-ph.IM↗