Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Bauer, D A

Publications and source records attributed to Bauer, D A.

Ionization Measurements of SuperCDMS SNOLAB 100 mm Diameter Germanium Crystals

Scaling cryogenic Germanium-based dark matter detectors to probe smaller WIMP-nucleon cross-sections poses significant challenges in the forms of increased labor, cold hardware, warm electronics and heat load. The development of larger crystals alleviates these issues. The results of ionization tests with two 100 mm diameter, 33 mm thick cylindrical detector-grade Germanium crystals are presented here. Through these results the potential of using such crystals in the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) SNOLAB experiment is demonstrated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

A Low-threshold Analysis of CDMS Shallow-site Data

Data taken during the final shallow-site run of the first tower of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) detectors have been reanalyzed with improved sensitivity to small energy depositions. Four {approx}224 g germanium and two {approx}105 g silicon detectors were operated at the Stanford Underground Facility (SUF) between December 2001 and June 2002, yielding 118 live days of raw exposure. Three of the germanium and both silicon detectors were analyzed with a new low-threshold technique, making it possible to lower the germanium and silicon analysis thresholds down to the actual trigger thresholds of {approx}1 and {approx}2 keV, respectively. Limits on the spin-independent cross section for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) to elastically scatter from nuclei based on these data exclude interesting parameter space for WIMPs with masses below 9 GeV/c{sup 2}. Under standard halo assumptions, these data partially exclude parameter space favored by interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments data as WIMP signals, and exclude new parameter space for WIMP masses between 3 and 4 GeV/c{sup 2}.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for inelastic dark matter with the CDMS II experiment

Results are presented from a reanalysis of the entire five-tower data set acquired with the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, with an exposure of 969 kg-days. The analysis window was extended to a recoil energy of 150 keV, and an improved surface-event background-rejection cut was defined to increase the sensitivity of the experiment to the inelastic dark matter (iDM) model. Three dark matter candidates were found between 25 keV and 150 keV. The probability to observe three or more background events in this energy range is 11%. Because of the occurrence of these events, the constraints on the iDM parameter space are slightly less stringent than those from our previous analysis, which used an energy window of 10-100 keV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Combined Limits on WIMPs from the CDMS and EDELWEISS Experiments

The CDMS and EDELWEISS collaborations have combined the results of their direct searches for dark matter using cryogenic germanium detectors. The total data set represents 614 kg/days equivalent exposure. A straightforward method of combination was chosen for its simplicity before data were exchanged between experiments. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on spin-independent weakly interacting, massive particle (WIMP)-nucleon cross section. For a WIMP mass of 90 GeV/c{sup 2}, where this analysis is most sensitive, a cross section of 3.3 x 10{sup -44} cm{sup 2} is excluded at 90% C.L. At higher WIMP masses, the combination improves the individual limits, by a factor 1.6 above 700 GeV/c{sup 2}. Alternative methods of combining the data provide stronger constraints for some ranges of WIMP masses and weaker constraints for others.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Results from a Low-Energy Analysis of the CDMS II Germanium Data

We report results from a reanalysis of data from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. Data taken between October 2006 and September 2008 using eight germanium detectors are reanalyzed with a lowered, 2 keV recoil-energy threshold, to give increased sensitivity to interactions from weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses below {approx}10 GeV/c{sup 2}. This analysis provides stronger constraints than previous CDMS II results for WIMP masses below 9 GeV/c{sup 2} and excludes parameter space associated with possible low-mass WIMP signals from the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The CDMS II data acquisition system

The Data Acquisition System for the CDMS II dark matter experiment was designed and built when the experiment moved to its new underground installation at the Soudan Lab. The combination of remote operation and increased data load necessitated a completely new design. Elements of the original LabView system remained as stand-alone diagnostic programs, but the main data processing moved to a VME-based system with custom electronics for signal conditioning, trigger formation and buffering. The data rate was increased 100-fold and the automated cryogenic system was linked to the data acquisition. A modular server framework with associated user interfaces was implemented in Java to allow control and monitoring of the entire experiment remotely.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗