SLIM
The Collaboration:
Laboratory: Laboratorio de Fisica Cosmica de Chacaltaya, Bolivia.
National Responsible: L. Patrizii (Bo)
1. Goal of the experiment
The SLIM experiment is a new large area array ( 400 m2 ) of nuclear track detectors (CR39 and Makrofol) which searches for magnetic monopoles of intermediate masses (106 1010 GeV) and nuclearites (aggregates of quarks u, d, s and electrons) in cosmic rays. It is installed at the high altitude Laboratory of Chacaltaya (Bolivia) at 5230 m a.s.l. In four years of operation it will reach a sensitivity to a monopole flux at the level of the Parker bound (i.e. ~ 10-15 cm-2 s-1 sr-1).
2.
Activities during 2002
The following achievements have been
obtained:
(*)
The analysis of 30 m2 of the installed detector is
almost completed. The delay (the plan was to complete it by the
end of 2002) was due to: 1) bureaucratic problems in bringing
back the detector from Bolivia and 2) the etching Laboratory in
Bologna was kept closed until the end of 2002 for the upgrading
of the security system.
Milestones 2003
Detector calibrations | 31-07-2003 |
Analysis of about 30 m2 of the installed detector in order to estimate the background and the sensitivity | 31-12-2003 |
Setting up of a new automatic fast scanning system | 31-12-2003 |
3. INFN contribution to the experiment in terms of manpower and financial support
4. Publications in refereed journals (in 2002): 0
5. Number of conference talks (in 2002): 2
6. Number of undergraduate and doctoral thesis of the experiment 0
7. Leadership roles and primary responsibilities in the experiment
Spokesperson of the SLIM Collaboration is Dr. Laura Patrizii, from INFN Sezione di Bologna. The Bologna group is the leading group in the collaboration.
8. Innovative instruments
SLIM uses a very high quality CR39 polymer
developed by the Bologna group in collaboration with the industry
(Intercast Co., Parma). The company is now worldwide known as one
of the few producers in the world of such detector.
9. Competive experiment
No other experiment of this kind (large area and high altitude) is in operation or planned.
10. International committee which has reviewed the experiment
None