THE UKDMC DARK MATTER XENON PROGRAMME - NEW WIMP LIMITS AND PROGRESS TOWARDS 1 TONNE

摘要

We outline recent progress from the liquid xenon WIMP search programme at Boulby. This comprises a staged series of three experiments, ZEPLIN I, II and III, aimed simultaneously to improve sensitivity towards 10~(-8) pb spin independent cross-section and to provide a test-bed for the design of a full-scale 1 tonne detector capable of reaching below 10~(-9) pb. First preliminary results from ZEPLIN Ⅰ are presented, yielding a limit approaching 4 x 10~(-6) pb, with final sensitivity now projected to reach below 10~(-6) pb with 8 months more running. We describe progress also on the development and construction of ZEPLIN Ⅱ and Ⅲ, both of which use simultaneous collection of primary and secondary elecroluminescence signals, plus preliminary design work on the ZEPLIN-MAX 1 tonne experiment.