Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber : Recent R&D Results

¹ Physics Department, Bryn Mawr College ; Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA ;
e-mail: jbattat@brynmawr.edu
² Physics Department, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
³ MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁴ Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁵ Physics Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁶ Physics Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
⁷ Physics Department, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK

Abstract

The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber collaboration recently reported a dark matter limit obtained with a 10 liter time projection chamber filled with CF₄ gas. The 10 liter detector was capable of 2D tracking (perpendicular to the drift direction) and 2D fiducialization, and only used information from two CCD cameras when identifying tracks and rejecting backgrounds. Since that time, the collaboration has explored the potential benefits of photomultiplier tube and electronic charge readout to achieve 3D tracking, and particle identification for background rejection. The latest results of this effort is described here.