https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202023201002
SABRE and the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory Dark Matter Research at the Australian National University
1
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
2
School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
3
School of Science, The University of New South Wales, UNSW Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2612, Australia
* e-mail: lindsey.bignell@anu.edu.au
Published online: 6 April 2020
The direct detection of dark matter is a key problem in astroparticle physics that generally requires the use of deep-underground laboratories for a low-background environment where the rare signals from dark matter interactions can be observed. This work reports on the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory – currently under construction and the first such laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere – and the associated research program. A particular focus will be given to ANU’s contribution to SABRE, a NaI:Tl dark matter, direct detection experiment that aims to confirm or refute the long-standing DAMA result. Preliminary measurements of the NaI:Tl quenching factor and characterisation of the SABRE liquid scintillator veto are reported.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
