Un detector basado en líquido para búsqueda de Axiones
Start date: 01/12/2023
End date: 30/11/2025
Project summary
The nature of Dark Matter (DM), which makes up 27% of the Universe, is one of the great mysteries of modern physics. MO hardly interacts with ordinary matter, making its detection extremely complicated. Another problem in physics in the so-called CP-strong theory predicts a charge-parity violation in strong interactions that has not been observed. The most convincing solution to this problem was proposed by Peccei and Quinn who postulated a new symmetry, when this symmetry is spontaneously broken, a new particle, the axion, appears. The properties of axions are very interesting because they hardly interact with matter, in this way axions can solve the CP-strong problem and at the same time the MO problem. The axion discovery relies on new-generation helioscopes, most notably the IAXO experiment, which requires ultra-low background X-ray detectors operating at the surface. Recent studies point out that the state of the art in low-background techniques is limited by cosmic-ray induced events. High-energy cosmic neutrons are especially dangerous because they cannot be shielded or identified in an efficient way with compact systems compatible with the geometrical constraints of the experiment. On the other hand, IAXO has capabilities to improve the helioscope technique, making it possible to detect axions from Supernovae (SN). However, their detection requires the installation of a gamma-ray detector in the energy range of 10 to 250 MeV. The aim of this project is to develop a detector based on the novel LiquidO technique where the major innovation is the use of an opaque (actually translucent) scintillator. Although this principle of operation is seemingly counter-intuitive, the use of an opaque medium causes stochastic confinement of the light providing spatial resolution. In addition, by relaxing the transparency requirements, the possibility of high dopant concentration is opened up. The new detector consists of a highly doped opaque liquid scintillator with 3D reconstruction capabilities. This new detector will be used for the identification of cosmic muons, neutrons and gamma rays with high efficiency, enabling Baby's background reduction (IAXO) by a factor between 10 and 100. In addition, it will be used for the detection of high-energy gamma rays, extending the potential of IAXO as a SN-scope. The proposed detector will increase the sensitivity of Baby (IAXO) establishing a new state of the art in low background techniques. At the same time, this project has the potential to explore new physics through the possible detection of SN axions. Beyond axion physics, this project exploits different synergies for the application of the LiquidO technique to other experiments on unlikely events, such as neutrinoless double-beta decays.
This contract is part of the project "A liquid-based detector for Axion search", Grant EUR2023-143444, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union <<NextGenerationEU>>/PRTR.
In the call for proposals: Europe Excellence 2023, within the State Programme for Tackling the priorities of our environment/ State Sub-programme for Internationalisation.