The Canadian Astroparticle physics Summer Student Talk (CASST) Competition 2023

Session

Session IV

S4

18 Aug 2023, 09:00

C-203 (Laurentian University / Virtual)

Conveners

Session IV

• Anita Masuskapoe

Description

Student Talks

13. All the light we cannot see: studying Dark Photon-Photon oscillations in astrophysical environments

Aditya Chugh (University of Toronto)

18/08/2023, 09:00

Dark matter (DM) comprises of nearly 80% of the mass of the universe, yet its exact nature eludes us. Specifically, the Dark Photon (DP) is a well-motivated candidate for DM, and offers a relatively simple extension to Standard Model (SM) physics. Dark photons act as a portal between SM and DM particles via kinetic mixing, thus oscillating into photons (and vice-versa) while propagating. For...

3. Adding Bis-MSB in the SNO+ Detector: Boosting the Light Yield One Batch at a Time

Myla Weiman

18/08/2023, 09:15

The SNO+ experiment consists of a detector filled with liquid scintillator, which creates light when particles pass through it. To increase the light yield, a second wavelength shifter, bis-MSB, is added to the scintillator. I will be going through the steps in achieving the deployment of the first batch of bis-MSB. I will also be talking about the process of developing a method to measure...

23. Cryogenic Distillation

Drake Wickman

18/08/2023, 09:30

Argon and krypton gas was enriched using cryogenic distillation. The goal is to measure the
HETP (height equivalent theoretical plate) for krypton gas based on the data that was collected to
see if it is the same as it is for argon. If it is, then from there the VPIE (vapour pressure isotopic
effect) can be extrapolated by assuming that the HETP is constant for all noble gases.

8. Preliminary Steps Towards Simulating Gamma-Gamma Coincidence Events in the CTBT Dual Detector and Determining its Minimum Detectable Activity

Maxwell Bridgewater

18/08/2023, 09:45

The Health Canada CTBT detector has the potential to improve the sensitivity of the low background gamma ray counting facility at SNOLAB. Since the CTBT detector is a dual detector design it is possible to observe gamma coincidence events in the detector. These events are significant as they offer the chance to lower the background noise floor in the detector by excluding events that fell...

16. Improving radon assay using activated charcoal

Yusuf Ahmed (SNOLAB)

18/08/2023, 10:00

Radon is a problematic radioactive inert gas to the highly sensitive detectors at SNOLAB. In attempts to improve our Radon trapping efficiency from samples of gases, a charcoal based trap was developed at SNOLAB. Radon binds to charcoal via the Van der Waals forces, a process that is made more prominent at cryogenic temperatures. Extraction and the determination of the amount of trapped Radon...

18. Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Errors for Measuring the Flux of Neutrons in the SNO Lab Underground Laboratory

Tatum Soward (SNO Lab)

18/08/2023, 10:15

SNOLAB’s Background Survey Improvement Project aims to update and improve the measurement of the background neutron flux in the underground lab from the results presented in the SNOLAB Technical Reference Manual (Duncan et al., 2016). The project uses Bubble Detector Spectrometers (BDS) manufactured by Bubble Technology Industries (BTI) which uses an unfolding algorithm to calculate the...