arXiv subjects

W. A. Lynch

Publications and source records attributed to W. A. Lynch.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Background modeling for dark matter search with 1.7 years of COSINE-100 data

We present a background model for dark matter searches using an array of NaI(Tl) crystals in the COSINE-100 experiment that is located in the Yangyang underground laboratory. The model includes background contributions from both internal and external sources, including cosmogenic radionuclides and surface $^{210}$Pb contamination. To build the model in the low energy region, with a threshold of 1 keV, we used a depth profile of $^{210}$Pb contamination in the surface of the NaI(Tl) crystals determined in a comparison between measured and simulated spectra. We also considered the effect of the energy scale errors propagated from the statistical uncertainties and the nonlinear detector response at low energies. The 1.7 years COSINE-100 data taken between October 21, 2016 and July 18, 2018 were used for this analysis. Our Monte Carlo simulation provides a non-Gaussian peak around 50 keV originating from beta decays of bulk $^{210}$Pb in a good agreement with the measured background. This model estimates that the activities of bulk $^{210}$Pb and $^{3}$H are dominating the background rate that amounts to an average level of 2.85$\pm$0.15 counts/day/keV/kg in the energy region of (1-6) keV, using COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7 kg$\cdot$years.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Recoil imaging for directional detection of dark matter, neutrinos, and physics beyond the Standard Model

Recoil imaging entails the detection of spatially resolved ionization tracks generated by particle interactions. This is a highly sought-after capability in many classes of detector, with broad applications across particle and astroparticle physics. However, at low energies, where ionization signatures are small in size, recoil imaging only seems to be a practical goal for micro-pattern gas detectors. This white paper outlines the physics case for recoil imaging, and puts forward a decadal plan to advance towards the directional detection of low-energy recoils with sensitivity and resolution close to fundamental performance limits. The science case covered includes: the discovery of dark matter into the neutrino fog, directional detection of sub-MeV solar neutrinos, the precision study of coherent-elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering, the detection of solar axions, the measurement of the Migdal effect, X-ray polarimetry, and several other applied physics goals. We also outline the R&D programs necessary to test concepts that are crucial to advance detector performance towards their fundamental limit: single primary electron sensitivity with full 3D spatial resolution at the $\sim$100 micron-scale. These advancements include: the use of negative ion drift, electron counting with high-definition electronic readout, time projection chambers with optical readout, and the possibility for nuclear recoil tracking in high-density gases such as argon. We also discuss the readout and electronics systems needed to scale-up such detectors to the ton-scale and beyond.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Improved Sensitivity of the DRIFT-IId Directional Dark Matter Experiment using Machine Learning

We demonstrate a new type of analysis for the DRIFT-IId directional dark matter detector using a machine learning algorithm called a Random Forest Classifier. The analysis labels events as signal or background based on a series of selection parameters, rather than solely applying hard cuts. The analysis efficiency is shown to be comparable to our previous result at high energy but with increased efficiency at lower energies. This leads to a projected sensitivity enhancement of one order of magnitude below a WIMP mass of 15 GeV c$^{-2}$ and a projected sensitivity limit that reaches down to a WIMP mass of 9 GeV c$^{-2}$, which is a first for a directionally sensitive dark matter detector.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

CYGNUS: Feasibility of a nuclear recoil observatory with directional sensitivity to dark matter and neutrinos

Now that conventional weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter searches are approaching the neutrino floor, there has been a resurgence of interest in detectors with sensitivity to nuclear recoil directions. A large-scale directional detector is attractive in that it would have sensitivity below the neutrino floor, be capable of unambiguously establishing the galactic origin of a purported dark matter signal, and could serve a dual purpose as a neutrino observatory. We present the first detailed analysis of a 1000 m$^3$-scale detector capable of measuring a directional nuclear recoil signal at low energies. We propose a modular and multi-site observatory consisting of time projection chambers (TPCs) filled with helium and SF$_6$ at atmospheric pressure. Depending on the TPC readout technology, 10-20 helium recoils above 6 keVr or only 3-4 recoils above 20 keVr would suffice to distinguish a 10 GeV WIMP signal from the solar neutrino background. High-resolution charge readout also enables powerful electron background rejection capabilities well below 10 keV. We detail background and site requirements at the 1000 m$^3$-scale, and identify materials that require improved radiopurity. The final experiment, which we name CYGNUS-1000, will be able to observe 10-40 neutrinos from the Sun, depending on the final energy threshold. With the same exposure, the sensitivity to spin independent cross sections will extend into presently unexplored sub-10 GeV parameter space. For spin dependent interactions, already a 10 m$^3$-scale experiment could compete with upcoming generation-two detectors, but CYGNUS-1000 would improve upon this considerably. Larger volumes would bring sensitivity to neutrinos from an even wider range of sources, including galactic supernovae, nuclear reactors, and geological processes.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Comparison between DAMA/LIBRA and COSINE-100 in the light of Quenching Factors

There is a long standing debate about whether or not the annual modulation signal reported by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration is induced by Weakly Interacting Massive Particles~(WIMP) in the galaxy's dark matter halo scattering from nuclides in their NaI(Tl) crystal target/detector. This is because regions of WIMP-mass vs. WIMP-nucleon cross-section parameter space that can accommodate the DAMA/LIBRA-phase1 modulation signal in the context of the standard WIMP dark matter galactic halo and isospin-conserving~(canonical), spin-independent~(SI) WIMP-nucleon interactions have been excluded by many of other dark matter search experiments including COSINE-100, which uses the same NaI(Tl) target/detector material. Moreover, the recently released DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 results are inconsistent with an interpretation as WIMP-nuclide scattering via the canonical SI interaction and prefer, instead, isospin-violating or spin-dependent interactions. Dark matter interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA signal are sensitive to the NaI(Tl) scintillation efficiency for nuclear recoils, which is characterized by so-called quenching factors~(QF), and the QF values used in previous studies differ significantly from recently reported measurements, which may have led to incorrect interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA signal. In this article, the compatibility of the DAMA/LIBRA and COSINE-100 results, in light of the new QF measurements is examined for different possible types of WIMP-nucleon interactions. The resulting allowed parameter space regions associated with the DAMA/LIBRA signal are explicitly compared with 90\% confidence level upper limits from the initial 59.5~day COSINE-100 exposure. With the newly measured QF values, the allowed 3$σ$ regions from the DAMA/LIBRA data are still generally excluded by the COSINE-100 data.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Study of cosmogenic radionuclides in the COSINE-100 NaI(Tl) detectors

COSINE-100 is a direct detection dark matter search experiment that uses a 106 kg array of eight NaI(Tl) crystals that are kept underground at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory to avoid cosmogenic activation of radioisotopes by cosmic rays. Even though the cosmogenic activity is declining with time, there are still significant background rates from the remnant nuclides. In this paper, we report measurements of cosmogenic isotope contaminations with less than one year half-lives that are based on extrapolations of the time dependent activities of their characteristic energy peaks to activity rates at the time the crystals were deployed underground. For longer-lived $^{109}$Cd ($T_{1/2}=1.6$ y) and $^{22}$Na ($T_{1/2}=2.6$ y), we investigate time correlations of characteristic $γ$/X-ray peaks. The inferred sea-level production rates are compared with caluclations based on the ACTIVIA and MENDL-2 model calculations and experimental data. For $^{3}$H, which has a long, 12.3 year half-life, we evaluated the activity levels from the exposure times and determined a cosmogenic activation rate that is consistent with other measurements.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2019

Search for a Dark Matter-Induced Annual Modulation Signal in NaI(Tl) with the COSINE-100 Experiment

We present new constraints on the dark matter-induced annual modulation signal using 1.7 years, of COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7 kg$\cdot$years. The COSINE-100 experiment, consisting of 106 kg of NaI(Tl) target material, is designed to carry out a model-independent test of DAMA/LIBRA's claim of WIMP discovery by searching for the same annual modulation signal using the same NaI(Tl) target. The crystal data show a 2.7 cpd/kg/keV background rate on average in the 2--6 keV energy region of interest. Using a $χ$-squared minimization method we observe best fit values for modulation amplitude and phase of 0.0092$\pm$0.0067 cpd/kg/keV and 127.2$\pm$45 d, respectively.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2019

A search for solar axion induced signals with COSINE-100

We present results from a search for solar axions with the COSINE-100 experiment. We find no evidence of solar axion events from a data-set of 6,303.9 kg$\cdot$days exposure and set a 90\,\% confidence level upper limit on the axion-electron coupling, $g_{ae}$, at 1.70~$\times$~$10^{-11}$ for an axion mass less than 1\,keV/c$^2$. This limit excludes QCD axions heavier than 0.59\,eV/c$^2$ in the DFSZ model and 168.1\,eV/c$^2$ in the KSVZ model.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

COSINE-100 and DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 in WIMP effective models

Assuming a standard Maxwellian for the WIMP velocity distribution, we obtain the bounds from null WIMP search results of 59.5 days of COSINE-100 data on the DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 modulation effect within the context of the non-relativistic effective theory of WIMP-nucleus scattering. Here, we systematically assume that one of the effective operators allowed by Galilean invariance dominates in the effective Hamiltonian of a spin-1/2 dark matter (DM) particle. We find that, although DAMA/LIBRA and COSINE-100 use the same sodium-iodide target, the comparison of the two results still depends on the particle-physics model. This is mainly due to two reasons: i) the WIMP signal spectral shape; ii) the expected modulation fractions, when the upper bound on the time-averaged rate in COSINE-100 is converted into a constraint on the annual modulation component in DAMA/LIBRA. We find that the latter effect is the dominant one. For several effective operators the expected modulation fractions are larger than in the standard spin-independent or spin-dependent interaction cases. As a consequence, compatibility between the modulation effect observed in DAMA/LIBRA and the null result from COSINE-100 is still possible for several non-relativistic operators. At low WIMP masses such relatively high values of the modulation fractions arise because COSINE-100 is mainly sensitive to WIMP-sodium scattering events, due to the higher threshold compared to DAMA/LIBRA. A next COSINE analysis is expected to have a full sensitivity for the 5$σ$ region of DAMA/LIBRA.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

The First Direct Search for Inelastic Boosted Dark Matter with COSINE-100

A search for inelastic boosted dark matter (iBDM) using the COSINE-100 detector with 59.5 days of data is presented. This relativistic dark matter is theorized to interact with the target material through inelastic scattering with electrons, creating a heavier state that subsequently produces standard model particles, such as an electron-positron pair. In this study, we search for this electron-positron pair in coincidence with the initially scattered electron as a signature for an iBDM interaction. No excess over the predicted background event rate is observed. Therefore, we present limits on iBDM interactions under various hypotheses, one of which allows us to explore an area of the experimental search for iBDM using a terrestrial detector.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

Background model for the NaI(Tl) crystals in COSINE-100

The COSINE-100 dark matter search experiment is an array of NaI(Tl) crystal detectors located in the Yangyang Underground Laboratory (Y2L). To understand measured backgrounds in the NaI(Tl) crystals we have performed Monte Carlo simulations using the Geant4 toolkit and developed background models for each crystal that consider contributions from both internal and external sources, including cosmogenic nuclides. The background models are based on comparisons of measurement data with Monte Carlo simulations that are guided by a campaign of material assays and are used to evaluate backgrounds and identify their sources. The average background level for the six crystals (70 kg total mass) that are studied is 3.5 counts/day/keV/kg in the (2-6) keV energy interval. The dominant contributors in this energy region are found to be $^{210}$Pb and $^3$H.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

Initial Performance of the COSINE-100 Experiment

COSINE is a dark matter search experiment based on an array of low background NaI(Tl) crystals located at the Yangyang underground laboratory. The assembly of COSINE-100 was completed in the summer of 2016 and the detector is currently collecting physics quality data aimed at reproducing the DAMA/LIBRA experiment that reported an annual modulation signal. Stable operation has been achieved and will continue for at least two years. Here, we describe the design of COSINE-100, including the shielding arrangement, the configuration of the NaI(Tl) crystal detection elements, the veto systems, and the associated operational systems, and we show the current performance of the experiment.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Muon detector for the COSINE-100 experiment

The COSINE-100 dark matter search experiment has started taking physics data with the goal of performing an independent measurement of the annual modulation signal observed by DAMA/LIBRA. A muon detector was constructed by using plastic scintillator panels in the outermost layer of the shield surrounding the COSINE-100 detector. It is used to detect cosmic ray muons in order to understand the impact of the muon annual modulation on dark matter analysis. Assembly and initial performance test of each module have been performed at a ground laboratory. The installation of the detector in Yangyang Underground Laboratory (Y2L) was completed in the summer of 2016. Using three months of data, the muon underground flux was measured to be 328 $\pm$ 1(stat.)$\pm$ 10(syst.) muons/m$^2$/day. In this report, the assembly of the muon detector and the results from the analysis are presented.

physics.ins-det↗