Experimental Astroparticle Physics Group, Undergraduate Summer Student Employment – Queen’s University

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 7th, 2024

The Experimental Particle Astrophysics Group at Queen’s University has openings for undergraduate summer researchers in summer 2024.

The group is actively involved in the design, construction, and operation of next generation experiments that seek to answer fundamental questions in particle physics and astrophysics, including searches for dark matter particles, studies of neutrinos and neutrino properties, and investigations into advanced detector technologies.

Much of our experimental work takes place at SNOLAB, the world-leading particle astrophysics laboratory located 6800’ underground in Vale’s Creighton mine, near Sudbury and some of the summer research activities could take place at SNOLAB.

The following experiments anticipate hiring one or more students this summer.

Please send a cover letter, a cv, and a copy of a recent transcript by e-mail to the contact for each of the experiments you are interested in. Successful candidates will have strong academic records in Physics, Engineering Physics, Chemistry, or a related discipline and will have some relevant experience demonstrating potential for research. Students eligible for NSERC, USRA or other fellowship support are strongly encouraged to apply.

SNO+ studies fundamental properties of neutrinos using a 780 tonne liquid scintillator target. The experiment is currently operating at SNOLAB. Potential summer research activities include data analysis, assisting in the preparation of calibration systems and calibration sources, participating in the development of tellurium process systems and procedures, and operating the detector during data taking.
Contact: Alex Wright (awright@queensu.ca)

DEAP and DarkSide are large-scale liquid argon experiments that use the unique properties of liquid argon scintillation to search for extremely rare dark matter interactions. DEAP is based at SNOLAB and has already acquired 3 years’ worth of data. DarkSide is a next-generation experiment, and will be the first direct dark matter experiment to fully instrument the detector with novel quantum sensors called Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). Opportunities available to students include analysis of DEAP data as well as assistance with data-taking, and simulating and testing the data acquisition system for DarkSide in conjunction with colleagues at TRIUMF. There is also the opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience, using a small cryostat facility in our lab at Queen’s to measure various properties of different detector materials used by DEAP and DarkSide.
Contact: Fred Schuckman (fgs@queensu.ca)

NEWS-G has developed novel spherical gas detectors that are exceptionally sensitive to low energy interactions. A large volume spherical detector has been built and is currently being installed underground at SNOLAB to search for low-mass dark matter particles and other rare low energy interactions. Prototype detectors are currently being built and tested at the Queen’s NEWS-G lab. Summer positions are available to assist with the data taking at SNOLAB and Queen’s, with the dark matter search and calibration data analysis, and with the development and testing of
novel detector technologies.
Contact: Guillaume Giroux (gg42@queensu.ca)

PICO searches for dark matter using bubble chambers. In these detectors, the superheated liquid undergoes phase transitions when recoiling nuclei from WIMP interactions deposit energy in the fluid. These phase transitions are detected using sensitive piezo-electric transducers and video cameras. PICO-40L is the current phase of the experiment and is currently being commissioned underground at SNOLAB. The next phase of the experiment, PICO-500, is currently in the design stage. Potential summer positions include assisting with the detector operation, dark matter search and calibration data analysis, and design and testing of PICO-500 components.
Contact: Ken Clark (kjc5@queensu.ca)

LiquidO is a new particle detection technique which uses an “opaque” liquid scintillator to confine light near the points of energy deposition (by particle interactions). The light gets collected by wavelength-shifting fibres and detected by silicon photomultipliers. A small testbench detector is being constructed to study/optimize the properties of this detector.
Contact: Mark Chen (mchen@queensu.ca)

HELIX (High Energy Light Isotope eXperiment) is a balloon experiment designed to measure cosmic ray light isotopes, especially the beryllium isotopes, at an altitude of ~40 km. As the Beryllium-10 isotopes are known to decay with a half-life of 5 million years, comparing the flux of this isotope with a stable isotope of Beryllium-9 can provide essential information to understand the lifetime of cosmic rays within our Galaxy. HELIX is a magnet spectrometer with a 1 Tesla superconducting magnet and particle detectors measuring the timing, position, and charge of cosmic rays as they pass through the detector (using time-of-flight, a drift chamber, and a ring imaging Cherenkov counter). HELIX aims to have a scientific flight at Kiruna, Sweden or Antarctica this summer (2024). Potential summer students will work on various tasks to support the successful flight of HELIX and to prepare for the future payload. This includes assisting the detector performance checks, data analysis, flight simulation, and R&D studies for the future detector components for the next HELIX flight.
Contact: Nahee Park (nahee.park@queensu.ca)

SBC (the Scintillating Bubble Chamber) searches for dark matter using a bubble chamber with a scintillating active fluid. Currently commissioning a test chamber at Fermilab, the dark matter detector will be installed at SNOLAB. This summer we are looking for several students to work on different areas of the project. The first is work on the molecular dynamics based simulation of interactions in the detector, and the second is the analysis of commissioning data from the first operational chamber. Finally, the integration of the data collection hardware with the computer system could be an additional task. Students interested in a more “hands on” project could be involved with the installation, commissioning, and analysis of data from a test stand at Queen’s.
Contact: Ken Clark (kjc5@queensu.ca)

GeRMLab: Our lab focuses on developing germanium-based detector technologies in support of experiments to search for dark matter and neutrinoless double-beta decay such as LEGEND. We are also heavily involved in developing machine learning algorithms to support a broad range of experiments in particle astrophysics. For example, we have developed a set of tools for removing electronic noise from signals that have been applied to germanium solid-state detectors as well as gaseous proportional counters. Projects in our group will be based on a discussion with the candidate in a way to align their work with developing useful skills. Typically, projects involve a
mix of hardware for collecting data and software to develop machine learning models. No prior experience in programming is required, although some familiarity with python will be advantageous. The position is open to students of all years.
Contact: Ryan Martin (ryan.martin@queensu.ca)

IceCube is located under the South Pole. With an active detection volume of 1 cubic kilometre, IceCube is currently the only high-energy neutrino observatory to measure the extraterrestrial high-energy neutrino flux with high significance. IceCube’s detector is a 3-D array of 5160 photo-detectors embedded into the detector volume to detect the Cherenkov light emitted by secondary particles generated by the interaction of neutrinos in the ice. IceCube is preparing for a new narrow detector array called ‘IceCube Upgrade,’ which will improve the sensitivity of atmospheric neutrino detection and provide ample calibration data to study the properties of light propagation inside the ice. Potential summer students will be involved in preparing IceCube Upgrade calibration data and R&D studies for future neutrino detector modules.
Contact: Nahee Park (nahee.park@queensu.ca)