This project will strengthen and sustain scientific collaboration between France and the University of Chicago on the search for particle dark matter with the DarkSide-20k detector, soon to be installed at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory. It will enhance coordination, knowledge transfer, and methodological alignment in preparation for the experiment’s high-mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) search.
Two intensive, week-long workshops will be hosted at the University of Chicago Center in Paris. The first workshop will define and formalize the physics and statistical analysis choices required for the high-mass WIMP search. It will enable the production of a sensitivity study based exclusively on synthetic data and establish a coordinated work plan for the subsequent months.
The second workshop will focus on consolidating and finalizing the analysis pipeline. Participants will define and implement a robust blind analysis strategy, validated through a structured data challenge using synthetic datasets to ensure readiness for physics data taking.
In addition to researchers from France and the University of Chicago, the project will actively involve INFN collaborators with key responsibilities in DarkSide-20k analysis. Their participation will ensure integration of expertise across institutions and promote a coherent, experiment-wide strategy, laying the foundation for long-term partnership and scientific excellence in DarkSide-20k dark matter searches.