We report constraints on spin-independent weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP)-nucleon scattering using a 3.35 × 10 4 kg day exposure of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment. A dual-phase xenon time projection chamber with 250 kg of active mass is operated at the Sanford Underground Research Facility under Lead, South Dakota (USA). With roughly fourfold improvement in sensitivity for high WIMP masses relative to our previous results, this search yields no evidence of WIMP nuclear recoils. At a WIMP mass of 50 GeV c −2 , WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross sections above 2.2 × 10 −46 cm 2 are excluded at the 90% confidence level. When combined with the previously reported LUX exposure, this exclusion strengthens to 1.1 × 10 −46 cm 2 at 50 GeV c −2 .
LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a next-generation dark matter direct detection experiment that will operate 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. Using a two-phase xenon detector with an active mass of 7 tonnes, LZ will search primarily for low-energy interactions with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are hypothesized to make up the dark matter in our galactic halo. In this paper, the projected WIMP sensitivity of LZ is presented based on the latest background estimates and simulations of the detector. For a 1000 live day run using a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, LZ is projected to exclude at 90% confidence level spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross sections above 1.4 × 10 −48 cm 2 for a 40 GeV=c 2 mass WIMP. Additionally, a 5σ discovery potential is projected, reaching cross sections below the exclusion limits of recent experiments. For spin-dependent WIMP-neutron(-proton) scattering, a sensitivity of 2.3 × 10 −43 cm 2 (7.1 × 10 −42 cm 2) for a 40 GeV=c 2 mass WIMP is expected. With underground installation well underway, LZ is on track for commissioning at SURF in 2020.
The first searches for axions and axionlike particles with the Large Underground Xenon experiment are presented. Under the assumption of an axioelectric interaction in xenon, the coupling constant between axions and electrons g Ae is tested using data collected in 2013 with an exposure totaling 95 live days ×118 kg. A double-sided, profile likelihood ratio statistic test excludes g Ae larger than 3.5 × 10 −12 (90% C.L.) for solar axions. Assuming the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky theoretical description, the upper limit in coupling corresponds to an upper limit on axion mass of 0.12 eV=c 2 , while for the KimShifman-Vainshtein-Zhakharov description masses above 36.6 eV=c 2 are excluded. For galactic axionlike particles, values of g Ae larger than 4.2 × 10 −13 are excluded for particle masses in the range 1-16 keV=c 2 . These are the most stringent constraints to date for these interactions.
SNO+ is a large liquid scintillator-based experiment located 2 km underground at SNOLAB, Sudbury, Canada. It reuses the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory detector, consisting of a 12 m diameter acrylic vessel which will be filled with about 780 tonnes of ultra-pure liquid scintillator. Designed as a multipurpose neutrino experiment, the primary goal of SNO+ is a search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) of130Te. In Phase I, the detector will be loaded with 0.3% natural tellurium, corresponding to nearly 800 kg of130Te, with an expected effective Majorana neutrino mass sensitivity in the region of 55–133 meV, just above the inverted mass hierarchy. Recently, the possibility of deploying up to ten times more natural tellurium has been investigated, which would enable SNO+ to achieve sensitivity deep into the parameter space for the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy in the future. Additionally, SNO+ aims to measure reactor antineutrino oscillations, low energy solar neutrinos, and geoneutrinos, to be sensitive to supernova neutrinos, and to search for exotic physics. A first phase with the detector filled with water will begin soon, with the scintillator phase expected to start after a few months of water data taking. The0νββPhase I is foreseen for 2017.
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