INPA

INPA Seminar Speaker: Chami Amarasinghe (UCSB)- Title: Hidden track structures in liquid xenon and their implications for dark matter searches
2026-02-27 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Date: February 27, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Chami Amarasinghe (UCSB)
Title: Hidden track structures in liquid xenon and their implications for dark matter searches
Abstract: Dual-phase liquid xenon detectors are entering a regime where new insights into signal formation are required to make robust discoveries of WIMPs and solar neutrino CEvNS. I will present two results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment showing that key signals and backgrounds are not described by standard models of light and charge production in liquid xenon. First, double-electron-capture backgrounds in WIMP searches produce unexpectedly strong electron-ion recombination, generating events that mimic nuclear recoils. Second, neutron calibrations reveal excess fluctuations in nuclear recoil signals, boosting the observable rates of low-mass dark matter and solar neutrino CEvNS. I will describe how the underlying physics of track structures impacts current dark matter searches and the predictions of future experiments.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: Soud Al Kharusi (Stanford)- Title: Neutron scattering for fundamental physics
2026-03-06 12:00 - 13:00
Date: March 6, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Soud Al Kharusi (Stanford)
Title: Neutron scattering for fundamental physics
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: Shenyang Shi (Columbia University)- Title: Search for dark matter and solar neutrinos with XENONnT
2026-03-13 12:00 - 13:00
Date: March 13, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Shenyang Shi (Columbia University)
Title: Search for dark matter and solar neutrinos with XENONnT
Abstract: The primary goal of the XENONnT experiment is the direct detection of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), with a projected sensitivity improvement of an order of magnitude over XENON1T. In this talk, I will present recent results from searches for light dark matter and solar neutrinos using the scintillation-ionization channel and the ionization-only channel with a lowered detection threshold in ~7 tonne*years of exposure. Together, these complementary analyses set world-leading constraints on dark matter–nucleon and dark matter–electron scattering cross sections. In the relevant mass range, the sensitivity approaches the so-called neutrino fog, where coherent neutrino scattering constitutes an irreducible background that can mimic light dark matter interactions.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

NO INPA Seminar Speaker
2026-03-20 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-04-10 12:00 - 13:00

INPA Seminar Speaker: Marina Cortes (University of Lisbon)-Title: Towards multi-probe pipeline standardization
2026-03-27 12:00 - 13:00
Date: March 27, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Marina Cortes (Univ of Lisbon)
Title: Towards multi-probe pipeline standardization
Abstract: Combining datasets from very different probes, such as Type Ia SNe, CMB, and BAO, is one of the most important tasks in modern observational cosmology. Obtaining robust constraints on model parameters such as H_0, Omega_matter, the equation of state, or the neutrino masses is technically challenging because of the fundamental differences among the probes. These include different systematics, pipeline architectures, parameter conventions, and modelling assumptions. I will describe the length and components of an integrated, end-to-end pipeline of cosmology products, and discuss possible solutions to integrate knowledge and address discrepancies between communities in any of the moving pieces of the full pipeline.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011

Passcode: [REDACTED]
The INPA schedule can be found here.

Additional seminars and colloquia of interest are posted on the Physics Division calendar.

INPA Seminar Speaker: Aditi Pradeep (SLAC)- Title: superCDMS
2026-04-03 12:00 - 13:00
Date: April 3, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Aditi Pradeep (SLAC)
Title: Searching in the dark: the low-mass frontier of direct dark matter detection
Abstract: Despite overwhelming astrophysical and cosmological evidence for dark matter, its particle nature remains one of the most compelling open questions in physics. While WIMPs with masses of 100’s GeV or larger have long been the target of direct detection experiments, theoretical and experimental developments increasingly motivate a broader search encompassing sub-GeV and even sub-MeV candidates. In this talk, I will survey the current dark matter landscape, motivating the case for low-mass dark matter searches. I will present the current status and latest results from the SuperCDMS experiment, which uses cryogenic silicon and germanium detectors with Transition Edge Sensor (TES) readout to probe dark matter masses below 10 GeV/c², and place its sensitivity in the context of other direct detection experiments. A central challenge facing most next-generation low-mass searches is the Low Energy Excess (LEE) – an anomalous signal-like background below a few hundred eV observed across multiple experiments and not yet attributed to a known source. I will discuss current efforts to diagnose and mitigate this background with position-based event tagging using a steerable, cryogenic MEMS-based optical calibration source. Finally, I will outline the path toward next-generation experiments, emphasizing advances in target materials and quantum sensing technologies, highlighting the need for advanced readout and characterization techniques to meet evolving experimental demands.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

NO INPA Seminar
2026-04-17 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-04-24 12:00 - 13:00

INPA Seminar Speaker: Yashwanth Bezawada (LBL)-Title: TBD
2026-05-01 12:00 - 13:00
Date: May 1, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Yashwanth Bezawada (LBL)
Title: Neutrinos
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: Lorenzo Magrini (Stanford)-Title: Mossbauer for novel physics
2026-05-08 12:00 - 13:00
Date: May 8, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Lorenzo Magrini (Stanford)
Title: Mossbauer for novel physics
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: TBD
2026-05-15 12:00 - 13:00
Date: May 15, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: TBD
Title: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: TBD
2026-05-22 12:00 - 13:00
Date: May 22, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: TBD
Title: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: TBD
2026-05-29 12:00 - 13:00
Date: May 29, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: TBD
Title: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: TBD-Title: TBD
2026-06-05 12:00 - 13:00
Date: June 5, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: TBD
Title: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]

INPA Seminar Speaker: TBD- Title: TBD
2026-06-12 12:00 - 13:00
Date: June 12, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: TBD
Title: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: [REDACTED]
