Dr Adam Brown
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Research Fellow in Particle Physics
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School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
F34
Hicks Building
Hounsfield Road
ºù«Ӱҵ
S3 7RH
- Profile
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I am an experimental particle astrophysicist, trying to solve some of the big riddles in fundamental physics. My research is based on the direct search for dark matter by using liquid-xenon based detectors.
I am a member of the LZ collaboration, which operates an experiment in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (South Dakota, USA). The LZ experiment is based around a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber, or TPC, which records tiny flashes of scintillation light and small numbers of ionised electrons produced when particles interact within it. This gives us information about the position, energy, and type of the interaction which took place.
By operating the detector deep underground, carefully selecting the purest of materials to build it from, and employing veto detectors, we minimise natural background sources of particle interactions. This means that when we do see the signal we are looking for, we can be sure it is from dark matter.
The global XLZD collaboration, of which I am also a member, is working towards an even more sensitive experiment. This will be around ten times bigger than LZ, and have a significantly lower background, and therefore will be able to probe more weakly interacting dark matter.
I am involved in various aspects of the preparations and design of XLZD, including being part of the team developing the central detector. I am also part of an effort to attract the experiment to the UK, where it would be hosted in the Boulby Underground Laboratory.
XLZD will be sensitive enough to detect the dark matter particles predicted by many leading theories and to look for neutrinoless double-beta decay. It will also be sensitive to interactions of various types of neutrino coming from the Sun, which can give us insights into solar physics as well as into the properties of neutrinos.
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