Hunting for Dark Matter and Exploring CEvNS in Reactor Neutrinos using Bubble Chambers

by Eric Vazquez Jauregui (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

Monday 25 Mar 2024, 14:30 → 16:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Majorana (Dip. di Fisica - Edificio G. Marconi)

Bubble chambers excel as exceptional detectors for uncovering rare events like dark matter and neutrino interactions, owing to their insensitivity to electron recoils and their capability to reject backgrounds through acoustic bubble formation. The PICO collaboration explores spin- dependent WIMP couplings using fluorocarbon liquids, thereby pushing the boundaries of direct dark matter detection and setting the leading limits in the field. Concurrently, the SBC collaboration is developing scintillating bubble chambers utilizing argon as a target, with a dual focus on dark matter searches and reactor neutrino measurements via Coherent Elastic Neutrino- Nucleus Scattering (CEvNS). In this seminar, I will present the latest results from the PICO bubble chambers’ dark matter search, exploring well-motivated models and their implications for our understanding of dark matter. Additionally, I will provide an update on the progress of the SBC scintillating bubble chambers program.