Welcome to the 50th edition of the McDonald Institute astroparticle physics community newsletter! If you know someone who is new to the research community, or is just a physics enthusiast, please consider forwarding this to them, they can sign up for the McDonald Institute monthly newsletter here.

This newsletter is one of the key ways we keep our community informed about our activities, events, news, and opportunities. We do our best to keep our ear to the ground and bring a variety of updates, but help is always appreciated! If you know of an opportunity, event, or recent science milestone, please forward it to communications@mcdonaldinstitute.ca so that we can share it here, or through our other channels.

Astronomy on Tap: Kingston - March 7

Astronomy on Tap is a series of worldwide events where professional astronomers give informal talks at local bars on topics of a broad interest in astronomy and astrophysics.

This particular event will be a bit different than in the past – we will host two fantastic scientists, an astronomer and a geologists: Gregg Wade and Chris Spencer who will go head-to-head in a debate over the sun vs moon in preparation for the April 8th total solar eclipse. The event will be hosted by local astro-buff, Mark Richardson.

There will be time for questions and discussion, and the speakers and other local scientists will mingle with the audience between and after the talks, providing lots of opportunities to chat with some keen astronomers. There will also be a trivia session with questions related to astronomy with prizes given out to the winners!

Find out more here: mcdonaldinstitute.ca/events/astronomy-on-tap-sun-vs-moon



CUTE finishing SuperCDMS testing and is looking for new project proposals

The Cryogenic Underground TEst facility (CUTE) at SNOLAB is a platform for testing and operating cryogenic devices in an environment with low levels of background. CUTE was designed and built in the context of the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment (SuperCDMS) that uses cryogenic detectors to search for interactions of dark matter particles with ordinary matter. The facility has been used to test SuperCDMS detectors since its commissioning in 2019. In 2021, it was handed over to SNOLAB to become a SNOLAB user facility after the completion of the testing of detectors for SuperCDMS. The facility will be available for projects that benefit from these special conditions, based on proposals assessed for their scientific and technological merits.

This article describes the main design features and operating parameters of CUTE.

Project proposals and inquiries may be sent via e-mail to cute_proposals@snolab.ca or contact SNOLAB management.

Above left: The Dilution refrigerator is being moved from the drywell into the cleanroom by the monorail crane. The plastic disk in the ceiling of the cleanroom has been removed and the sliding panels are open, ready for the cryostat to be lowered. Right: A SuperCDMS tower with a single detector about to be mounted to the refrigerator is resting on a cover plate atop the nested cans.



Giving Dark Matter Detectors New Targets

Queen’s University postdocs Melissa Diamond and Chris Cappiello, along with Professors Aaron Vincent and Joe Bramante have found that when WIMPs interact with quarks, the building blocks of protons and neutrons and atomic nuclei, they also automatically weakly interact with electrons. This means that dark matter detectors that are designed to probe WIMP-electron interactions, are also sensitive to WIMP-nucleon interactions. Electrons are much lighter than atomic nuclei, making WIMP-electron detectors sensitive to dark matter too light to be seen in WIMP-nucleon detectors.

This plot shows constraints on dark matter nucleon interactions. Previously existing constraints from detectors are shown in gray. Astrophysical constraints are marked by the blue line. New constraints from electron recoil detectors are shown in red. The expected sensitivity of upcoming electron recoil detectors is outlined in red. For WIMPs with masses between about 1 and several hundred MeV, Electron recoil detectors will be the more sensitive to certain weak WIMP nucleon interactions than any available detector today.

This is an excerpt of a summary provided by Melissa Diamond here.

The paper was published in Physics Review Letters on January 31st 2024.



McDonald Institute Visiting Scientist Program

The McDonald Institute is excited to announce the launch of our Visiting Scientist Program for astroparticle physics research. This initiative offers financial reimbursement for researchers seeking to enhance their work through research visits, ranging from 2 to 12 months, in aggregate. Recognizing the diverse needs of researchers, the program offers the flexibility to structure visits according to individual requirements, including multiple shorter-term or multi-location visits.

The program is designed to complement, not replace normal supports provided by host institutions. Participants can receive up to $15,000 in reimbursement. This can cover either eligible travel and accommodation expenses, or provide subsistence support equal to half of any salary reduction (e.g., sabbatical year salary adjustments).



Applications are now open, with awards given until the budget is fully committed. We encourage interested researchers to apply early to take advantage of this opportunity https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/visiting-scientist-exchange/



The Advancing EDII Fund for Astroparticle Physics

The McDonald Institute is piloting a new EDII funding opportunity in support of the astroparticle physics community. The Advancing EDII Fund for Astroparticle Physics supports initiatives focused on expanding capacity within community building, training, and research environments.

Applications may seek up to $1,000 (Stream 1) and $2,500 (Stream 2 and 3) for each EDII initiative.  

Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis until March 15, 2024. Initiatives can take place up to June 15, 2024.  

Please see the Advancing EDII Fund website for more information, application guidelines, and documents.



GRIDS 2024

The deadline to apply for the Graduate Instrumentation and Detector School (GRIDS) is fast approaching! GRIDS is a two-week graduate/post-doc summer school providing hands-on training with the range of detector and instrumentation technology used in modern experiments. It is aimed primarily for those with limited experience with a range of experimental hardware.

GRIDS will be held June 3rd - 14th, and the deadline to apply is March 15th.

Apply here: grids.trumf.ca.

TRISEP 2024

The 2024 Tri-Institute Summer School on Elementary Particles (TRISEP) will be held July 8-19, 2024 at SNOLAB and Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON, Canada.

TRISEP is an international summer school organized jointly by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, SNOLAB, and TRIUMF (Canada’s laboratory for particle and nuclear physics). TRISEP will feature lectures by leading experts in the field of particle physics in its broadest sense and is designed to be very interactive with ample time for questions, discussions and interaction with the speakers.

The school is intended for graduate students of all levels who were already exposed to quantum field theory.

Applications to attend TRISEP will open on February 12. Requests for financial assistance are vetted on a case-by-case basis and application for funding is not guaranteed.

For more details and application information, visit the TRISEP website.

McDonald Institute Student Achievement Awards

The McDonald Institute is accepting nominations to recognize HQP student contributions to the Canadian astroparticle physics community. The awards include a $250 honorarium and certificate of award. If you have a current or recently-graudated student you would like to nominate, you can fill out a simple nomination form for the following categories:

• Research Contribution (Click HERE to submit a nomination) This recognition is suitable for a student whose scholarly work has significantly advanced particle astrophysics research in the last year. 
• Outreach & Education (Click HERE to submit a nomination) This recognition honours a student who has made a major contribution to the public’s understanding and appreciation of particle astrophysics and adjacent disciplines. 
• Equity Leadership (Click HERE to submit a nomination) This recognition is applicable to any student whose leadership advances inclusion and belonging of a socially diverse talent pool within Canadian astroparticle physics research.
• Innovation Leadership (Click HERE to submit a nomination)This recognition is applicable to any student whose novel approaches to problem solving have yielded benefit to the Canadian astroparticle physics community. Nominations must demonstrate how the student’s interventions have influenced the actions/planning of other members of the community. This award recognizes both ingenuity and the ability to motivate others toward common goals. 

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN AWARD:

Nominees must have been enrolled as a student at a Canadian post-secondary institution during calendar 2023. This applies to any college or university undergraduate or graduate student meeting this criterion.

• Nominees’ significant work or achievements for award consideration occurred between January 1, 2023 and December 22, 2023. Nominators may reference the continuing impact of eligible work or achievements beyond December 22, 2022.
• Nominees’ eligible achievements and contributions have benefited, or will be likely to benefit, any portion of the Canadian astroparticle physics community beyond the nominee themself. 
• Nominees have not been recognized by a McDonald Institute HQP Acheivement award in the same category within the last three calendar years.

NOTE:

Nominators may submit more than one nomination form. Eligible nominees may be forwarded for consideration in multiple award categories, but each nomination must be unique.



Explore opportunities in astroparticle physics!

The Careers in Astroparticle Physics website features jobs, research positions, and other career-building opportunities in the field in a highly discoverable way. Prospective and current students can easily find current postings to take their careers to the next step, or just to keep them inspired and optimistic about their future.

View the Careers website.

We hope you find this community resource helpful!



Would you like to be more involved in the research community? We invite motivated students and early career researchers to participate in the McDonald Institute Highly Qualified Personnel Advisory Committee (HQPAC). The committee meets regularly to discuss issues and strategize long-term goals for ways to enhance the experience of everyone in astroparticle physics. Reach out to Zac Kenny at communications@mcdonaldinstitute.ca for more information.

The McDonald Institute at Queen’s University is situated in the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe & Haudenosaunee First Nations. The Institute is part of a national network of institutions and research centres, which operate in other traditional Indigenous territories. Visit www.whose.land to learn the traditional territories where astroparticle physicists are grateful to live and work across Canada.

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