Measurement of Carbon Disulfide Anion Diffusion in a TPC

A Negative Ion Time Projection Chamber was used to measure the field dependence of lateral and longitudinal diffusion for CS$_2$ anions drifting in mixtures of CS$_2$ and Ar at 40 Torr. Ion drift velocities and limits on the capture distance for electrons as a function of field and gas mixture are also reported.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX using elsart.cl

Probing the structure of the cold dark matter halo with ancient mica

Mica can store (for >1 Gy) etchable tracks caused by atoms recoiling from WIMPs. Ancient mica is a directional detector despite the complex motions it makes with respect to the WIMP "wind". We can exploit the properties of directionality and long integration time to probe for structure in the dark matter halo of our galaxy. We compute a sample of possible signals in mica for a plausible model of halo structure.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Study of Negative-Ion TPC Using {\mu}-PIC for Directional Dark Matter Search

Negative-ion time projection chambers(TPCs) have been studied for low-rate and high-resolution applications such as dark matter search experiments. Recently, a full volume fiducialization in a self-triggering TPC was realized. This innovative technology demonstrated a significant reduction in the background with MWPC-TPCs. We studied negative-ion TPC using the {\mu}-PIC+GEM system and obtained sufficient gas gain with CS$_{2}$gas and SF$_{6}$ gas at low pressures. We expect an improvement in detector sensitivity and angular resolution with better electronics

Unique Signature of Dark Matter in Ancient Mica

Mica can store (for >1 Gy) etchable tracks caused by atoms recoiling from WIMPs. Because a background from fission neutrons will eventually limit this technique, a unique signature for WIMPs in ancient mica is needed. Our motion around the center of the Galaxy causes WIMPs, unlike neutrons, to enter the mica from a preferred direction on the sky. Mica is a directional detector and despite the complex rotations that natural mica crystals make with respect to this WIMP ``wind,'' there is a substantial dependence of etch pit density on present day mica orientation.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures. Accepted for publication at Phys. Rev. Let

Dark sectors 2016 Workshop: community report

This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016, summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration, and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the next 5-10 years

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference

Study of Negative-Ion TPC Using μ-PIC for Directional Dark Matter Search

Negative-ion time projection chambers(TPCs) have been studied for low-rate and high-resolution applications such as dark matter search experiments. Recently, a full volume fiducialization in a self-triggering TPC was realized. This innovative technology demonstrated a significant reduction in the background with MWPC-TPCs. We studied negative-ion TPC using the μ-PIC+GEM system and obtained sufficient gas gain with CS2 gas and SF6 gas at low pressures. We expect an improvement in detector sensitivity and angular resolution with better electronics