Position-sensitive plastic detector construction to aid in the search for dark matter

• Grant number: 23/09290-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Nelson Carlin Filho
• Grantee: Arthur Luz Otoni
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The idea of dark matter is based on observations of large-scale gravitational forces in the universe. Such observations verified that only thegravitational interaction did not explain certain phenomena and, in this sense, a field in particle physics characterized by searching and detecting what would be thethe dark matter. Currently, there are 3 main types of experiments for this purpose: collisions in large accelerators (such as the LHC), direct detection and indirect detection.In this context, was created the COSINE-100 direct detection experiment, located in the Yangyang underground laboratory in South Korea, whose purpose is to find WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), one of the possible candidates for dark matter. The experiment seeks to detect an annual modulation in the detection rate of these particlesdue to the Earth's relative motion in relation to the Milky Way's halo, in which would be distributed the WIMPs. Because it is a very sensitive experiment, it is important that thedata analysis is done in order to identify the noise and background and isolate what may be WIMP. Thus, the objectives of this project are based on the construction of a muon position sensitive detector, which aid in separating the signal produced by the muons from the signalproduced by a possible interaction with WIMPs in COSINE-100.