IIHE invited seminar: The use of noble elements in the quest to explore signatures of new physics

by Prof. Antonio Bueno (University of Granada)

Friday 21 Feb 2020, 15:00 → 16:00 Europe/Brussels

Jean Sacton Seminar room (1G003) (IIHE (ULB-VUB))

Massive neutrinos, the gravitational effects associated with the substance we refer to as dark matter are observations with no plausible explanation within the framework of the Standard Model of particle physics. It is, therefore, no wonder that an intense and exciting experimental program exists worldwide that, without the use of colliders, is trying to understand better the properties of neutrinos and dark matter or is looking for additional signatures of new physics. 

 

Detectors based on noble elements (Argon, Xenon, …) are among the best and most sensitive technologies to look for rare events. In this talk, we will analyze the features that make such materials so attractive for neutrino and underground physics. We will discuss, from a historical perspective, the key milestones that allowed us to build massive detectors of liquified noble gasses. It will be followed by a review of the current and planned experiments that show great promise to provide us with breathtaking results in the years to come.