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Title: Projected WIMP sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment

Journal Article · · Physical Review D
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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 cm2 for a 40 GeV/c2 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 cm2 (7.1×10-42 cm2) for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP is expected. With underground installation well underway, LZ is on track for commissioning at SURF in 2020.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); National Science Foundation (NSF); UK Science & Technology Facilities Council; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT); Institute for Basic Science, Korea
Contributing Organization:
LUX-ZEPLIN Collaboration
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0011702; AC02-05CH11231; SC0020216; SC0012704; SC0010010; AC02-07CH11359; SC0012161; SC0014223; FG02-13ER42020; SC0009999; NA0003180; SC0010072; SC0015708; SC0006605; FG02-10ER46709; UW PRJ82AJ; SC0013542; AC02-76SF00515; SC0019066; AC52-07NA27344; SC0012447; SC0018982; SC0019193
OSTI ID:
1605156
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1603208; OSTI ID: 1604732; OSTI ID: 1633961; OSTI ID: 1671746; OSTI ID: 1756453
Journal Information:
Physical Review D, Vol. 101, Issue 5; ISSN 2470-0010
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 123 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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