keV Dark Matter Searches with the Micro-X Rocket

por Antonia Hubbard (Northwestern University)

viernes 23 jun. 2017 15:00 → 16:00 Europe/Madrid

Seminar Room, 1.1.1 (IFIC)

The Micro-X sounding rocket uses a Transition Edge Sensor (TES) array to make X-ray observations. The improved energy resolution of TESs compared to traditional space-based detectors brings new precision to both supernova remnant observations and the X-ray search for sterile neutrino dark matter. Current observations disagree over the potential presence of a 3.5 keV X-ray line consistent with a sterile neutrino interaction, and Micro-X is in a unique position to establish or refute the presence of this line. I will present the construction status of the instrument and expectations for flight observations, with special emphasis given to the prospects of sterile neutrino studies.