Dark Matter Detection Using Helium Evaporation and Field Ionization
| Autor: | George M. Seidel, Humphrey J. Maris, Derek Stein |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Range (particle radiation) Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors 010308 nuclear & particles physics Dark matter Binding energy Evaporation FOS: Physical sciences General Physics and Astronomy chemistry.chemical_element Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) 01 natural sciences chemistry Field desorption Ionization 0103 physical sciences Physics::Atomic and Molecular Clusters Particle Physics::Atomic Physics Atomic physics 010306 general physics Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) Helium |
| Popis: | We describe a method for dark matter detection based on the evaporation of helium atoms from a cold surface and their subsequent detection using field ionization. When a dark matter particle scatters off a nucleus of the target material, elementary excitations (phonons or rotons) are produced. Excitations which have an energy greater than the binding energy of helium to the surface can result in the evaporation of helium atoms. We propose to detect these atoms by ionizing them in a strong electric field. Because the binding energy of helium to surfaces can be below 1~meV, this detection scheme opens up new possibilities for the detection of dark matter particles in a mass range down to 1~MeV/c$^{2}$. 6 pages, 3 figures, and 3 pages of supplemental material |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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