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Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.) 221 (2011) 379

www.elsevier.com/locate/npbps

Dark Matter Detection with Bubble Chambers

E.Behnke1 , J.I.Collar2 , P.S.Cooper3 , K.Crum2 , M.Crisler3 , M.Hu3 ,
I.Levine1 , S.Mishra2 , D.Nakazawa2 , B.Odom2 , E.Ramberg3 ,
J.Rasmussen2 , N.Riley2 , A.Sonnenschein3 , M.Szydagis2 ,
R. Tschirhart3 and N.Vander Werf1
1
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Indiana University South Bend, South Bend,
IN 46634, USA
2
Department of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics,
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
3
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL 60510, USA

(COUPP Collaboration)

COUPP[1] (Chicagoland Observatory for Underground Particle Physics) uses stable room-
temperature bubble chambers to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) which
might compose a significant fraction of the galactic dark matter. The superheated refrigerant
used, CF3 I, is a fire-extinguishing agent and an optimal target for both spin-dependent
and spin-independent WIMP couplings. At the moderate degrees of superheat necessary to
detect low-energy nuclear recoils such as those expected from WIMPs, this fluid exhibits a
measured intrinsic rejection of minimum-ionizing backgrounds better than 1010 . The metastable
superheated state is, however, sensitive to alpha-recoils. This leads to the requirement to reach
ultra-trace levels of alpha-emitters within the active volume of the chambers. The eventual goal
is to match the radio-purity in alpha-emitters of modern large neutrino detectors.
COUPP presently operates a 2 kg chamber at the 300 m.w.e. depth of the Fermilab
neutrino tunnel. Information has been obtained on the presence and control of radon-
induced backgrounds. More than 250 kg-days of exposure has been collected. A very
competitive sensitivity to spin-dependent couplings can be extracted, even in the presence of
identifiable backgrounds. Measures against these backgrounds are currently being implemented.
Calibrations of the device with gamma and neutron sources have been performed.
The short-term goals for COUPP are to reduce the alpha-recoil backgrounds in the 2kg cham-
ber to a level of less than one event per kg per day, and to apply the upgrades tested on it to
larger chambers currently under construction. A pion beam calibration able to separate the
response to iodine and fluorine recoils is planned using a dedicated chamber. With the addi-
tion of a muon veto, presently being commissioned, it is in principle possible to reach improved
sensitivities to both WIMP couplings in the present Fermilab location. The collaboration is
constructing larger devices, totaling up to 80 kg of CF3 I. Devices of this mass will be able to
exploit a number of signatures characteristic of WIMP-induced recoils, leading to a diminished
sensitivity to alpha and neutron recoils and to a much improved WIMP sensitivity. Long-term
plans involve the deep-underground installation of a target mass of order one ton, using a num-
ber of different refrigerant targets enclosed in suitable hydrogenated shielding and leading to an
exhaustive exploration of supersymmetric WIMP models.

[1] http://www-coupp.fnal.gov/

0920-5632/$ – see front matter © 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V.

doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2011.10.028