Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Project

The DEAP-3600 collaboration, a group of over 60 researchers from several institutions in Canada and the UK, has been very active with construction and implementation of the DEAP-3600 detector, with all detector components now onsite and being installed into the SNOLAB Cube Hall. DEAP-3600 is a novel experiment searching for direct scattering of dark matter particles on a large target (3.6 tonnes) of cryogenic liquid argon instrumented deep underground at the SNOLAB facility, and has been under development since 2006. The unique SNOLAB site uses the 6800 feet of rock overburden at Vale's Creighton Mine to filter out cosmic rays that could mimic a genuine dark matter signal. Once operational, the DEAP detector will enhance our sensitivity to dark matter particle interactions by a factor of 50 over current searches, and will allow a significant discovery potential. Installation and commissioning of the detector is progressing well and is expected to continue through the 2013 calendar year, with commissioning and first data planned for 2014. The heart of the detector, a large ultra-pure acrylic vessel, has been under construction since 2011 and will be completed in November, 2013. The origin of the dark matter in our Universe is currently one of the most important questions in particle astrophysics. It is well-established that most of the matter in our Universe is dark, and a favored hypothesis is that the dark matter consists of WIMPs, Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, which could be detected by observing their elastic scattering from nuclei. So far these particles have evaded detection, both in direct search experiments, and in other experiments searching either for their annihilation products, or for evidence of their their existence through very energetic collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. When the DEAP-3600 detector turns on in 2014, it will be the first direct dark matter detector at the tonne-scale, and the most sensitive detector capable of probing the currently allowed theoretical models of Supersymmetry, models motivated by particle physics that predict a new set of particles, one of which could be a candidate for dark matter. If observed, this particle would be known to account for most of the matter in the universe, far outweighing the normal matter that makes up stars, planets, and ourselves. This funding will provide support for research personnel for the data-collection phase of the project and builds on past investments that have been made toward particle astrophysics research. A substantial team and expertise has been built up for DEAP-3600, and we are planning several years of data collection, calibration and analysis to fully exploit the physics potential of the project. This proposal will lead to further world-class training of highly qualified personnel in Canada, at the leading edges of particle physics and particle astrophysics research. In addition to attracting students and international highly qualified researchers, it is anticipated that several Post-Doctoral Fellows, Research Associates, and students will be supported by this request, throughout the analysis phase.