Dark matter, thought to make up 90% of the mass of the universe, is a catch all term for a group of theorised particles which are heavy, weakly interacting and invisible. These particles, if discovered, would provide scientists with a much deeper insight into the nature of the universe. At present, the favoured dark matter candidate is the WIMP particle (Weakly Interacting Massive Particle), which would require a low background environment in order to identify.
The DRIFT project, specifically DRIFT-IId, is Boulby Underground Laboratory's contribution to the search for dark matter. DRIFT is a detector with directional sensitivity allowing it to indicate the origin of any incident particle detected. This technique is expected to provide the strongest signature in the case of a positive WIMP detection, as well as enabling progress towards post-detection dark matter WIMP halo astronomy.
DRIFT-IId is a 1m3 gas-filled Time Projection Chamber (TPC) using electronegative gas to reduce diffusion, giving maximum track reconstruction resolution. DRIFT can operate in either spin-dependent or spin-independent mode depending on the fill gas mixture used. DRIFT is both limit-setting and undergoing R&D with various studies of technique/system performance and optimisation underway.
Participating institutions:
- Sheffield University
- Edinburgh University
- Occidental College
- MIT
- University of New Mexico
- Colorado State University
