SABRE: Dark matter annual modulation detection in the northern and southern hemispheres

SABRE (Sodium-iodide with Active Background REjection) is a new Nal(Tl) experiment designed to search for galactic Dark Matter through the annual modulation signature. SABRE will consist of highly pure NaI(Tl) crystals operated in an active liquid scintillator veto. The SABRE experiment will follow a two-phase approach. In the first phase, one high-purity Nal(Tl) crystal will be operated at LNGS in an active liquid scintillator veto with the goal of demonstrating backgrounds low enough for a sensitive test of the DAMA/LIBRA result. An unprecedented radio-purity for both the Nal powder and the crystal growth will be needed to achieve this goal. The second phase will consist in building two high-purity NaI (Tl) detector arrays, with a total mass of about 50 kg each, located at LNGS and in the Stawell Gold Mine in Australia. The operation of twin full-scale experiments in both the northern and the southern hemispheres will strengthen the reliability of the result against any possible seasonal systematic effect. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.