Keep pulling the thread on Priscilla Cushman.
The Super CDMS experiment is expected to begin collecting science data near the end of summer.
The Super CDMS team anticipates its first science run will involve six months of data collection and six months of analysis, with initial results expected in approximately one to one-and-a-half years.
The theory that dark matter consists of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) has been challenged because the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) did not find evidence for supersymmetry and direct detection experiments did not find WIMPs at expected masses.
Dark matter is considered the primary driver of the universe's evolution, from the Big Bang to the formation of its current large-scale structure.
The Super CDMS experiment is designed to search for signatures of dark matter deep underground.
The Super CDMS experiment is located deep underground to use the Earth's mass to block cosmic rays that would otherwise interfere with its sensitive detectors.
Dark matter particles are so weakly interacting that they can pass through the Earth unimpeded.
The Super CDMS experiment uses crystals of germanium or silicon as the target material for dark matter interactions.
The Super CDMS experiment has successfully cooled its detectors down to its required operating temperature.
The sensors for the Super CDMS experiment operate at a temperature between 20 and 40 millikelvin.
The Super CDMS experiment's payload consists of 31 kilograms of detectors and hundreds of kilograms of associated tower hardware.
The Super CDMS experiment uses five tons of nested copper vacuum cans as part of its cryogenic infrastructure to maintain stable operating temperatures for its 24 detectors.