基于液氙的暗物质直接探测

Dark matter direct detection based on liquid xenon

对暗物质的直接探测是探索暗物质本性的一个重要手段.近年来,随着液氙探测技术的发展,探测质量不断增大,对暗物质的探测灵敏度也不断提高.本文从暗物质在液氙探测器中预期的事例数出发,介绍了液氙探测器的信号产生和关键探测技术,以及控制探测器中本底的方法.目前液氙探测技术对暗物质与核子弹性散射截面的上限已经达到了10-44cm2,今后几年的灵敏度会继续提高2～3个数量级,对暗物质新物理模型做出更好的限制.

Direct detection of dark matter is a method to uncover the nature of dark matter. Recent year,the development of liquid xenon detection technology keeps improving the sensitivity of dark matter detection by increasing the target mass. In this article,we first calculate the expected dark matter interaction rate in a xenon target. We then describe the principles of dark matter detection using liquid xenon and the key techniques to achieve a sensitive detection,including how to detect the signals and how to control the background from various sources. The current best sensitivity achieved by liquid xenon dark matter detector is about 10？44 cm2 for interaction of dark matter with the nucleon. We expect the sensitivity will be improved by 2–3 orders of magnitude in the next couple of years.