In Pursuit of Dark Matter: Recent Results from the SuperCDMS Experiment

In Pursuit of Dark Matter: Recent Results from the SuperCDMS Experiment
Jodi Cooley, Southern Methodist University
Date and time: Wed, Oct 07, 2015 - 4:00pm
Refreshments at 3:45pm
Location: Hasbrouck 124
Category: Departmental Colloquium
Abstract:
The existence of dark matter was first postulated in the early 1930s to account for the orbital velocities of stars in the Milky Way and motion in galaxy clusters. Since that time, astrophysicists and astronomers have produced compelling evidence for the existence of dark matter and determined that it constitutes the bulk of the matter in the Universe. Despite this fact, the composition of the dark matter remains unknown. One compelling candidate for particle dark matter is the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). Working in a low-background environment in the Soudan Mine, located in northern Minnesota, the SuperCDMS experiment is designed to directly detect interactions between WIMPs and nuclei in its target Ge crystals. In this talk I will present the latest results from the SuperCDMS experiment. I will also discuss the current status of the SuperCDMS at Soudan experiment and plans for a future 50-kg scale experiment which is slated for operation in SNOLAB.