Étude et caractérisation de détecteurs à liquide en surchauffe
Experimental measurements show that only 4\% of the mass-energy density of the universe is made of atomic matter. Dark matter and dark energy are responsible for 24\% and 71\% of the mass-energy density. The theory of supersymmetry predicts a new set of particles. The neutralino, which is the lightest stable particle, is one of the favorite candidates for dark matter. The Project in Canada to Search for Supersymmetric Objects (PICASSO) seeks dark matter using superheated droplets detectors (SDD). A phase transition occurs when a particle interact with a C$_4$F$_{10}$ droplet and deposits enough energy within a certain critical radius. An acoustic wave is created during this phase transition and piezoelectric sensors transform this acoustic signal into an electrical signal. This signal is then amplified, digitised and recorded for further analysis. In this work is presented a study on superheated droplets detectors aiming in particular at an improvement of the alpha background discrimination. The data acquisition system has been tested in order to check the coupling between the piezoelectric sensors and the acrylic wall of the detector, the efficiency of the amplifier gain of the piezoelectric sensors and the effect of the gain on the quality of the signal. The SIMPLE (Superheated Instrument for Massive ParticLe Experiments) experiment stated that they could obtain a 97\% discrimination of the alpha background using superheated droplets detectors and electric microphones. This work concludes that PICASSO detectors are not sensitive to this effect. Finally, a small droplet detector has been studied and it has been concluded that a small droplets site does not improve the alpha background discrimination.
PICASSO WIMP Dark matter Neutralino Acquisition system Supersymmetry SUSY