8 research outputs found
Transition Edge Sensor Chip Design of Modular CE{\nu}NS Detector for the Ricochet Experiment
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CENS) offers a valuable
approach in searching for physics beyond the Standard Model. The Ricochet
experiment aims to perform a precision measurement of the CENS spectrum at
the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) nuclear reactor with cryogenic solid-state
detectors. The experiment will employ an array of cryogenic thermal detectors,
each with a mass of around 30 g and an energy threshold of 50 eV. One section
of this array will contain 9 Transition Edge Sensor (TES) based calorimeters.
The design will not only fulfill requirements for Ricochet, but also act as a
demonstrator for future neutrino experiments that will require thousands of
macroscopic detectors. In this article we present an updated TES chip design as
well as performance predictions based on a numerical modeling
A Stress Induced Source of Phonon Bursts and Quasiparticle Poisoning
The performance of superconducting qubits is degraded by a poorly
characterized set of energy sources breaking the Cooper pairs responsible for
superconductivity, creating a condition often called "quasiparticle poisoning."
Recently, a superconductor with one of the lowest average quasiparticle
densities ever measured exhibited quasiparticles primarily produced in bursts
which decreased in rate with time after cooldown. Similarly, several cryogenic
calorimeters used to search for dark matter have also observed an unknown
source of low-energy phonon bursts that decrease in rate with time after
cooldown. Here, we show that a silicon crystal glued to its holder exhibits a
rate of low-energy phonon events that is more than two orders of magnitude
larger than in a functionally identical crystal suspended from its holder in a
low-stress state. The excess phonon event rate in the glued crystal decreases
with time since cooldown, consistent with a source of phonon bursts which
contributes to quasiparticle poisoning in quantum circuits and the low-energy
events observed in cryogenic calorimeters. We argue that relaxation of
thermally induced stress between the glue and crystal is the source of these
events, and conclude that stress relaxation contributes to quasiparticle
poisoning in superconducting qubits and the athermal phonon background in a
broad class of rare-event searches.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. W. A. Page and R. K. Romani contributed equally
to this work. Correspondence should be addressed to R. K. Roman
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Progress Towards HeRALD and Ricochet: Detectors at the Interface of Particle and Condensed Matter Physics
A variety of particle and astrophysics experiments have identified that, to the best of our knowledge, the standard model of particle physics is incomplete. In particular, the nature of dark matter and a complete understanding of the neutrino still evade our understanding. In order to make progress on these questions, more precise and sensitive measurements are needed. This dissertation will describe my efforts building particle detectors to study the nature of dark matter and neutrinos. Chapters on the HeRALD experiment will focus on the implementation of a superfluid helium detector for dark matter, and chapters on Ricochet will discuss my work towards a modular transition-edge sensor with applications to coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering
Perennial antarctic lake ice: An oasis for life in a polar desert
The permanent ice covers of Antarctic lakes in the Mcmurdo Dry valleys develop liquid water inclusions in response to solar heating of internal aeolian-derived sediments. The ice sediment particles serve as nutrient (inorganic and organic)-enriched microzones for the establishment of a physiologically and ecologically complex microbial consortium capable of contemporaneous photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, and decomposition. The consortium is capable of physically and chemically establishing and modifying a relatively nutrient-and organic matter-enriched microbial \u27oasis\u27 embedded in the lake ice cover
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A Stress Induced Source of Phonon Bursts and Quasiparticle Poisoning
The performance of superconducting qubits is degraded by a poorly
characterized set of energy sources breaking the Cooper pairs responsible for
superconductivity, creating a condition often called "quasiparticle poisoning."
Recently, a superconductor with one of the lowest average quasiparticle
densities ever measured exhibited quasiparticles primarily produced in bursts
which decreased in rate with time after cooldown. Similarly, several cryogenic
calorimeters used to search for dark matter have also observed an unknown
source of low-energy phonon bursts that decrease in rate with time after
cooldown. Here, we show that a silicon crystal glued to its holder exhibits a
rate of low-energy phonon events that is more than two orders of magnitude
larger than in a functionally identical crystal suspended from its holder in a
low-stress state. The excess phonon event rate in the glued crystal decreases
with time since cooldown, consistent with a source of phonon bursts which
contributes to quasiparticle poisoning in quantum circuits and the low-energy
events observed in cryogenic calorimeters. We argue that relaxation of
thermally induced stress between the glue and crystal is the source of these
events, and conclude that stress relaxation contributes to quasiparticle
poisoning in superconducting qubits and the athermal phonon background in a
broad class of rare-event searches