Track reconstruction with MIMAC

Directional detection of Dark Matter is a promising search strategy. However, to perform such kind of detection, the recoiling tracks have to be accurately reconstructed: direction, sense and position in the detector volume. In order to optimize the track reconstruction and to fully exploit the data from the MIMAC detector, we developed a likelihood method dedicated to the track reconstruction. This likelihood approach requires a full simulation of track measurements with MIMAC in order to compare real tracks to simulated ones. Finally, we found that the MIMAC detector should have the required performance to perform a competitive directional detection of Dark Matter.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 201

Identification of Dark Matter with directional detection

Directional detection is a promising search strategy to discover galactic Dark Matter. Taking advantage on the rotation of the Solar system around the Galactic center through the Dark Matter halo, it allows to show a direction dependence of WIMP events. Data of directional detectors are composed of energy and a 3D track for each recoiling nuclei. Here, we present a Bayesian analysis method dedicated to data from upcoming directional detectors. However, we focus only on the angular part of the event distribution, arguing that the energy part of the background distribution is unknown. Two different cases are considered: a positive or a null detection of Dark Matter. In the first scenario, we will present a map-based likelihood method allowing to recover the main incoming direction of the signal and its significance, thus proving its Galactic origin. In the second scenario, a new statistical method is proposed. It is based on an extended likelihood in order to set robust and competitive exclusion limits. This method has been compared to two other methods and has been shown to be optimal in any detector configurations. Eventually, prospects for the MIMAC project are presented in the case of a 10 kg CF4 detector with an exposition time of 3 years.Comment: Proceeding of the 8th International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter (IDM 2010), July 2010, Montpellier, France. To appear in Proceedings of Science (PoS

Directional detection of galactic dark matter

Directional detection is a promising Dark Matter search strategy. Taking advantage on the rotation of the Solar system around the galactic center through the Dark Matter halo, it allows to show a direction dependence of WIMP events that may be a powerful tool to identify genuine WIMP events as such. Directional detection strategy requires the simultaneous measurement of the energy and the 3D track of low energy recoils, which is a common challenge for all current projects of directional detectors.Comment: Proceedings of UCLA Dark Matter 2012, 10th Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe, Marina del Rey Marriott, CA, USA, February 22-24, 201

Evaluation of nickel-hydrogen battery for space application

Results of electrical space qualification tests of nickel-hydrogen battery type HR 23S are presented. The results obtained for the nickel-cadmium battery type VO 23S are similar except that the voltage level and the charge conservation characteristics vary significantly. The electrical and thermal characteristics permit predictions of the following optimal applications: charge coefficient in the order of 1.3 to 1.4 at 20C; charge current density higher than C/10 at 20C; discharge current density from C/10 to C/3 at 20C; maximum discharge temperature: OC; storage temperature: -20C

MIMAC potential discovery and exclusion of neutralinos in the MSSM and NMSSM

The MIMAC project aims to provide a nominal fluorine detector for directional detection of galactic dark matter recoil events. Its expected behavior reaches an important part of the predicted spin dependent elastic scattering interactions of the supersymmetric neutralino with protons. Hence, the parameter space in the MSSM and the NMSSM models with neutralino dark matter could be probed by such experimental efforts. In particular, a good sensitivity to spin dependent interactions tackles parameter space regions to which the predictions on spin independent interactions and indirect signatures are far below current and projected experiments.Comment: Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 201

A {\mu}-TPC detector for the characterization of low energy neutron fields

The AMANDE facility produces monoenergetic neutron fields from 2 keV to 20 MeV for metrological purposes. To be considered as a reference facility, fluence and energy distributions of neutron fields have to be determined by primary measurement standards. For this purpose, a micro Time Projection Chamber is being developed to be dedicated to measure neutron fields with energy ranging from 8 keV up to 1 MeV. In this work we present simulations showing that such a detector, which allows the measurement of the ionization energy and the 3D reconstruction of the recoil nucleus, provides the determination of neutron energy and fluence of these neutron fields

Directional Detection of Dark Matter with MIMAC

Directional detection is a promising search strategy to discover galactic Dark Matter. We present a Bayesian analysis framework dedicated to Dark Matter phenomenology using directional detection. The interest of directional detection as a powerful tool to set exclusion limits, to authentify a Dark Matter detection or to constrain the Dark Matter properties, both from particle physics and galactic halo physics, will be demonstrated. However, such results need highly accurate track reconstruction which should be reachable by the MIMAC detector using a dedicated readout combined with a likelihood analysis of recoiling nuclei.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the TAUP 2011 conference held in Munich (5 - 9 September, 2011

Exclusion, Discovery and Identification of Dark Matter with Directional Detection

Directional detection is a promising search strategy to discover galactic Dark Matter. We present a Bayesian analysis framework dedicated to data from upcoming directional detectors. The interest of directional detection as a powerful tool to set exclusion limits, to authentify a Dark Matter detection or to constrain the Dark Matter properties, both from particle physics and galactic halo physics, will be demonstrated.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures; Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 201

Micromegas detector developments for MIMAC

The aim of the MIMAC project is to detect non-baryonic Dark Matter with a directional TPC. The recent Micromegas efforts towards building a large size detector will be described, in particular the characterization measurements of a prototype detector of 10 $\times$ 10 cm$^2$ with a 2 dimensional readout plane. Track reconstruction with alpha particles will be shown.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 2011; corrections on author affiliation

Dedicated front-end and readout electronics developments for real time 3D directional detection of dark matter with MIMAC

A complete dedicated electronics, from front-end to back-end, was developed to instrument a MIMAC prototype. A front end ASIC able to monitor 64 strips of pixels and to provide their individual "Time Over Threshold" information has been designed. An associated acquisition electronics and a real time track reconstruction software have been developed to monitor a 512 channel prototype. This auto-triggered electronic uses embedded processing to reduce the data transfer to its useful part only, i.e. decoded coordinates of hit tracks and corresponding energy measurements. The electronic designs, acquisition software and the results obtained are presented.Comment: Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 201