SABRE
Dark matter is a hypothetical kind of matter that does not emit light, and therefore is very difficult to observe directly, except for its gravitational effects. The existence of a large invisible mass in the universe in fact has been hypothesized in the thirties to explain the dynamics of galaxy clusters and the motion of the stars in the galaxies. The indications of the existence of dark matter have become stronger over the years, though its nature remains still unknown and no direct measurements in the laboratory have been possible so far.
SABRE is an experiment for the direct search of dark matter through the annual modulation. Since the Earth moves around the Sun with a period of one year, and the dark matter permeates our galaxy, dark matter is expected to appear to us as a “wind” with different speed over the year. The SABRE experiment could measure this effect as an annual variation in the counts of particles crossing its detector, made of scintillating crystals of sodium iodide - NaI(Tl). A twin detector in the Southern hemisphere (SABRE South, in Australia) will demonstrate the cosmic origin of this modulation, allowing to exclude seasonal variations that would have opposite effects in the two hemispheres.
Dark matter is extremely difficult to detect, due to the small probability of interaction with common matter. For this reason SABRE, like the other experiments for the direct search of dark matter, has to be shielded from the interference of other particles, the cosmic rays, operating in underground laboratories. A prototype of SABRE, the SABRE Proof-of-Principle (PoP) has been operated in the National Laboratories of Gran Sasso (LNGS), in the gallery that crosses the Gran Sasso mountains in Abruzzo, Italy. SABRE South instead will be placed in the Stawell gold mine, in Australia, that is the candidate to host the first underground laboratory in the Southern hemisphere.
Websites:
Thesis Opportunities:
Available theses include experimental activities of detector characterization at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and analysis/simulation work. For more information contact: Giulia D'Imperio and Claudia Tomei.
Local Coordinator
Giulia D'Imperio| Name | Surname | Role | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ioan | Dafinei | Dipendente | Primo Tecnologo |
| Giulia | D'Imperio | Dipendente | Ricercatrice |
| Marcella | Diemoz | Dipendente | Dirigente di Ricerca |
| Valerio | Pettinacci | Dipendente | Primo Tecnologo |
| Shahram | Rahatlou | Associato | Prof. Ordinario |
| Claudia | Tomei | Dipendente | Prima Ricercatrice |