122276752
Demonstration of surface electron rejection with interleaved germanium detectors for dark matter searches
The SuperCDMS experiment in the Soudan Underground Laboratory searches for dark matter with a 9-kg array of cryogenic germanium detectors. Symmetric sensors on opposite sides measure both charge and phonons from each particle interaction, providing excellent discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils, and between surface and interior events. Surface event rejection capabilities were tested with two ^(210)Pb sources producing ∼130 beta decays/hr. In ∼800 live hours, no events leaked into the 8–115 keV signal region, giving upper limit leakage fraction 1.7 × 10^(−5) at 90% C.L., corresponding to < 0.6 surface event background in the future 200-kg SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment.
119378198
Multiparticle States and the Hadron Spectrum on the Lattice
The Clebsch-Gordan decomposition is calculated for direct products of the irreducible representations of the cubic space group. These results are used to identify multiparticle states which appear in the hadron spectrum on the lattice. Consideration of the cubic space group indicates how combinations of both zero momentum and non-zero momentum multiparticle states contribute to the spectrum.
118538422
Titanium nitride films for ultrasensitive microresonator detectors
Titanium nitride (TiNx) films are ideal for use in superconducting microresonator detectors for the following reasons: (a) the critical temperature varies with composition (0 107) and have noise properties similar to resonators made using other materials, while the quasiparticle lifetimes are reasonably long, 10–200 μs. TiN microresonators should therefore reach sensitivities well below 10−19 W Hz−1/2.
7535151
Search for low-mass weakly interacting massive particles using voltage-assisted calorimetric ionization detection in the SuperCDMS experiment.
SuperCDMS is an experiment designed to directly detect weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a favored candidate for dark matter ubiquitous in the Universe. In this Letter, we present WIMP-search results using a calorimetric technique we call CDMSlite, which relies on voltage-assisted Luke-Neganov amplification of the ionization energy deposited by particle interactions. The data were collected with a single 0.6 kg germanium detector running for ten live days at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. A low energy threshold of 170  eVee (electron equivalent) was obtained, which allows us to constrain new WIMP-nucleon spin-independent parameter space for WIMP masses below 6  GeV/c2.
6851820
The Effect of Reduced Spatial Symmetries on Lattice States: Results for Non-zero Linear Momentum
The irreducible representations of the cubic space group are described and used to determine the mapping of continuum states to lattice states with non-zero linear momentum. The Clebsch-Gordan decomposition is calculated from the character table for the cubic space group. These results are used to identify multiparticle states which appear in the hadron spectrum on the lattice.
12246338
Position and energy-resolved particle detection using phonon-mediated microwave kinetic inductance detectors
We demonstrate position and energy-resolved phonon-mediated detection of particle interactions in a silicon substrate instrumented with an array of microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). The relative magnitude and delay of the signal received in each sensor allow the location of the interaction to be determined with ≲ 1mm resolution at 30 keV. Using this position information, variations in the detector response with position can be removed, and an energy resolution of σ_E = 0.55 keV at 30 keV was measured. Since MKIDs can be fabricated from a single deposited film and are naturally multiplexed in the frequency domain, this technology can be extended to provide highly pixelized athermal phonon sensors for ∼1 kg scale detector elements. Such high-resolution, massive particle detectors would be applicable to rare-event searches such as the direct detection of dark matter, neutrinoless double-beta decay, or coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering.
118448597
NEW 145-MHZ SOURCE MEASUREMENTS BY PAPER IN THE SOUTHERN SKY
We present observations from the Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization (PAPER) in South Africa, observed in May and September 2010. Using two nights of drift scanning with PAPER’s 60 ◦ FWHM beam we have made a map covering the entire sky below +10 degrees declination with an effective center frequency of 145 MHz, a 70-MHz bandwidth, and a resolution of 26 ′ . A 4800 square-degree region of this large map with the lowest Galactic emission reaches an RMS of 0.7 Jy. We establish an absolute flux scale using sources from the 160-MHz Culgoora catalog. Using the 408-MHz Molonglo Reference Catalog (MRC) as a finding survey, we identify counterparts to 480 sources in our maps, and compare our fluxes to the MRC and to 332 sources in the Culgoora catalog. For both catalogs, the ratio of PAPER to catalog flux averages to 1, with a standard deviation of 50%. This measured variation is consistent with comparisons between independent catalogs observed at different bands. The PAPER data represent new 145-MHz flux measurements for a large number of sources in the band expected to encompass cosmic reionization, and represents a significant step toward establishing a model for removing foregrounds to the reionization signal. Subject headings: dark ages, reionization, first stars — catalogs — instrumentation: interferometers
118516215
A TECHNIQUE FOR PRIMARY BEAM CALIBRATION OF DRIFT-SCANNING, WIDE-FIELD ANTENNA ELEMENTS
We present a new technique for calibrating the primary beam of a wide-field, drift-scanning antenna element. Drift-scan observing is not compatible with standard beam calibration routines, and the situation is further complicated by difficult-to-parameterize beam shapes and, at low frequencies, the sparsity of accurate source spectra to use as calibrators. We overcome these challenges by building up an interrelated network of source crossing points—locations where the primary beam is sampled by multiple sources. Using the single assumption that a beam has 180° rotational symmetry, we can achieve significant beam coverage with only a few tens of sources. The resulting network of crossing points allows us to solve for both a beam model and source flux densities referenced to a single calibrator source, circumventing the need for a large sample of well-characterized calibrators. We illustrate the method with actual and simulated observations from the Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization.
118343187
A Per-baseline, Delay-spectrum Technique for Accessing the 21 cm Cosmic Reionization Signature
A critical challenge in measuring the power spectrum of 21 cm emission from cosmic reionization is compensating for the frequency dependence of an interferometer's sampling pattern, which can cause smooth-spectrum foregrounds to appear unsmooth and degrade the separation between foregrounds and the target signal. In this paper, we present an approach to foreground removal that explicitly accounts for this frequency dependence. We apply the delay transformation introduced in Parsons and Backer to each baseline of an interferometer to concentrate smooth-spectrum foregrounds within the bounds of the maximum geometric delays physically realizable on that baseline. By focusing on delay modes that correspond to image-domain regions beyond the horizon, we show that it is possible to avoid the bulk of smooth-spectrum foregrounds. We map the point-spread function of delay modes to k-space, showing that delay modes that are uncorrupted by foregrounds also represent samples of the three-dimensional power spectrum, and can be used to constrain cosmic reionization. Because it uses only spectral smoothness to differentiate foregrounds from the targeted 21 cm signature, this per-baseline analysis approach relies on spectrally and spatially smooth instrumental responses for foreground removal. For sufficient levels of instrumental smoothness relative to the brightness of interfering foregrounds, this techniquemore » substantially reduces the level of calibration previously thought necessary to detect 21 cm reionization. As a result, this approach places fewer constraints on antenna configuration within an array, and in particular, facilitates the adoption of configurations that are optimized for power-spectrum sensitivity. Under these assumptions, we demonstrate the potential for the Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization (PAPER) to detect 21 cm reionization at an amplitude of 10 mK{sup 2} near k {approx} 0.2 h Mpc{sup -1} with 132 dipoles in 7 months of observing.« less
73360743
Initial Systematic Investigations of the Landscape of Low-Layer NAHE Variation Extensions
The discovery that the number of physically consistent string vacua is on the order of 10500 has prompted several statistical studies of string phenomenology. Focusing on the Weakly Coupled Free Fermionic String formalism, we present systematic extensions of a variation on the NAHE (Nanopoulos, Antoniadis, Hagelin, Ellis) set of basis vectors. This variation is more conducive to the production of “mirrored” models, in which the observable and hidden sector gauge groups (and possibly matter content) are identical. This study is parallel to the extensions of the NAHE set itself and presents statistics related to similar model properties. Statistical coupling between specific gauge groups and spacetime supersymmetry is also examined. Finally, a model with completely mirrored gauge groups is discussed. It is found that the region of the landscape explored generates no physically realistic models due to a lack of three net chiral generations.
67793460
Algorithm for determining U(1) charges in free fermionic heterotic string models
To assist in the search for phenomenologically realistic models in the string landscape, we must develop tools for investigating all gauge charges, including U(1) charges, in string models. We introduce the process for constructing fermionic string models and present an algorithm for determining the U(1) gauge states and U(1) charges in weakly-coupled free fermionic heterotic string (WCFFHS) models given their matter and non-Abelian gauge content. We determine the computational complexity of this algorithm and discuss a particular implementation that can be used in conjunction with a framework developed at Baylor University for building WCFFHS models. We also present preliminary results regarding matter state uniqueness for a run of 1.4 million gauge models and find that U(1) charges affect the number of unique matter states in a significant minority of models constructed. We conclude by considering future avenues of investigation to which this algorithm may be applied.