Status of the Picasso project

• Published in: Nuclear physics. Section B, Proceedings supplement Vol. 138; pp. 160 - 162
• Main Authors: Barnabé-Heider, M., Behnke, E., Behnke, J., Di Marco, M., Doane, P., Feighery, W., Genest, M.-H., Gornea, R., Kanagalingam, S., Leroy, C., Lessard, L., Levine, I., Martin, J.P., Mathusi, C., Neurenberg, J., Noble, A.J., Noulty, R., Nymberg, R., Shore, S.N., Wichoski, U., Zacek, V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 2005
• ISSN: 0920-5632; 1873-3832
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2004.11.037

The Picasso project is a dark matter search experiment based on the superheated droplet technique. Preliminary runs performed at the Picasso Laboratory in Montreal showed the suitability of this detection technique to the search for weakly interacting cold dark matter particles. In July 2002, a new phase of the project started. A batch of six 1-liter detectors with an active mass of approximately 40 g was installed in a gallery of the SNO observatory in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada at a depth of 6,800 feet (2,070 m). We give a status report on the new experimental setup, data analysis, and preliminary limits on spin-dependent neutralino interaction cross section.