Research and development of dark matter detector using new high refractive index medium

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K13480
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Particle/Nuclear/Cosmic ray/Astro physics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Kishimoto Yasuhiro 東京大学, 宇宙線研究所, 准教授 (30374911)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 暗黒物質 / 結晶シンチレータ / 高屈折率媒体

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We aimed at constructing a system capable of handling multiple crystal scintillators as a single system for the purpose of using for searching dark matter experiment which requiring a large volume target. The point of this research is to suppress the reflection of scintillation light by using a thin film or medium with a high refractive index.
In the thin film formation, it succeeded to form a high refractive index thin film of 1.9 to 2.3. The refractive index can be controlled by the material composition and firing temperature. In the method using the medium, it was found that the crystalline scintillator is sealed with a transparent resin with a refractive index of 1.76. This method makes deliquescent scintillators be stably used over a long period. On the other hand, it turned out that there are some issues to put into practical use for dark matter searches, and it is a future task.

Free Research Field

天体素粒子物理学