As Canada’s national particle accelerator centre, TRIUMF is an important partner to the McDonald Institute and has a long history of providing invaluable support to astroparticle physics experiments in Canada. TRIUMF was intimately involved in the SNO era of particle physics in Canada and carried that involvement through the transition to SNOLAB. Between 2005 and 2017, TRIUMF used its expertise in engineering and manufacturing to make major contributions to three of the experiments supported by the McDonald Institute: SNO+, DEAP-3600, and HALO. For SNO+, the TRIUMF Design Office created the universal interface (which let all the necessary systems pass into the experiment and kept mine air out), and upgraded the calibration source system used to tune the experiment’s sensors. For DEAP-3600, TRIUMF was responsible for the acrylic light guides surrounding the inner vessel, and the electronics system that allows the experiment to run and collect data. For HALO, TRIUMF developed the system used to test the neutron detectors which are crucial to the experiment, as well as some cables.
TRIUMF has hired two senior researchers in its Physical Science Division with the funding made available through the McDonald Institute’s CFREF award. Both Dr. Ken Clark and Dr. Wolfgang Rau are joint appointees at TRIUMF and Queen’s University. Dr. Ken Clark is the scientific board chair for the PICO experiment, and Dr. Wolfgang Rau leads the Canadian contribution to SuperCDMS, both of which are dark matter experiments at SNOLAB. Access to the facilities at TRIUMF and its engineering and technical expertise will allow both of them to further the sensitivity and impact of their respective collaborations’ research
TRIUMF has already made advancements using the funding available through its partnership with the McDonald Institute, which have impacted nEXO and DEAP-3600 in addition to several other astroparticle physics experiments around the world. This work was done by an electronics engineer and students who are all supported by the McDonald Institute. Technological developments that can help further many experiments is exactly the type of impact the McDonald Institute wants to see resulting from its partnerships.
TRIUMF is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of Musqueam people. Read more