We present the first limits on inelastic electron-scattering dark matter and dark photon absorption using a prototype SuperCDMS detector having a charge resolution of 0.1 electron-hole pairs (CDMS ...HVeV, a 0.93 g CDMS high-voltage device). These electron-recoil limits significantly improve experimental constraints on dark matter particles with masses as low as 1 MeV/c^{2}. We demonstrate a sensitivity to dark photons competitive with other leading approaches but using substantially less exposure (0.49 g d). These results demonstrate the scientific potential of phonon-mediated semiconductor detectors that are sensitive to single electronic excitations.
We present limits on spin-independent dark matter-nucleon interactions using a 10.6 g Si athermal phonon detector with a baseline energy resolution of σE = 3.86 ± 0.04 ( stat ) +0.19 −0.00 ( syst ) ...eV . This exclusion analysis sets the most stringent dark matter-nucleon scattering cross-section limits achieved by a cryogenic detector for dark matter particle masses from 93 to 140 MeV / c2 , with a raw exposure of 9.9 g d acquired at an above-ground facility. This work illustrates the scientific potential of detectors with athermal phonon sensors with eV-scale energy resolution for future dark matter searches.
We present an analysis of electron recoils in cryogenic germanium detectors operated during the SuperCDMS Soudan experiment. The data are used to set new constraints on the axioelectric coupling of ...axionlike particles and the kinetic mixing parameter of dark photons, assuming the respective species constitutes all of the galactic dark matter. This study covers the mass range from 40 eV/c2to 500 keV/c2for both candidates, excluding previously untested parameter space for masses below ∼ 1 keV/c2. For the kinetic mixing of dark photons, values below 10−15 are reached for particle masses around 100 eV/c2; for the axioelectric coupling of axionlike particles, values below 10−12 are reached for particles with masses in the range of a few-hundred eV/c2.
We provide an update on a gram-scale phonon-mediated KID-based device that was designed for a sub-GeV dark matter search at the Northwestern Experimental Underground Site. Currently, the device is ...demonstrating 6 eV resolution on the energy absorbed by the resonator. With some important assumptions, this translates to 20 eV baseline resolution on energy deposited in the substrate. We show that TLS noise dominates this energy resolution estimate. After modifying the design to mitigate TLS noise, we project 5 eV baseline resolution on energy deposited in the substrate (1.5 eV on energy absorbed by the resonator) for an amplifier-white-noise-dominated device. Finally, we present a clear path forward to sub-eV resolutions, which includes installation of a quantum-limited superconducting parametric amplifier and adjustments to the material makeup of our resonators.
The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search low ionization threshold experiment (CDMSlite) achieved efficient detection of very small recoil energies in its germanium target, resulting in sensitivity to lightly ...ionizing particles (LIPs) in a previously unexplored region of charge, mass, and velocity parameter space. We report first direct-detection limits calculated using the optimum interval method on the vertical intensity of cosmogenically produced LIPs with an electric charge smaller than e / ( 3 × 105), as well as the strongest limits for charge ≤ e / 160 , with a minimum vertical intensity of 1.36 × 10−7 cm−2 s−1 sr−1 at charge e / 160 . These results apply over a wide range of LIP masses ( 5 MeV / c2 to 100 TeV / c2) and cover a wide range of β γ values ( 0.1 – 106), thus excluding nonrelativistic LIPs with β γ as small as 0.1 for the first time.
We present a status update on the development of a phonon-mediated particle detector using kinetic inductance detector (KID). The design is intended for
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kg substrate, using
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KIDs on ...a single readout line, to image the athermal phonon distribution at < 1 mm position resolution and
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eV energy resolution. The design specification is set by the need to improve position reconstruction fidelity while maintaining low energy threshold for future rare-event searches such as for low-mass dark matter. We report on the design, which shows negligible crosstalk and > 95% inductor current uniformity, using the coplanar waveguide feedline, ground shield, and a new class of KIDs with symmetric coplanar stripline (sCPS) inductor. The multiplexing is designed upon the frequency-geometry relation we develop for the sCPS KIDs. We introduce the fabrications of the Nb RF assessment prototypes and the high phonon collection efficiency Al–Nb devices. We achieve
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0.07% frequency displacement on a 80-KID RF assessment prototype, and the result indicates that we may place more than 180 resonances in our 0.4 GHz readout band with minimal frequency misordering. The coupling quality factors are
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5
as designed. Finally, we update our work in progress in fabricating the
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KID, bi-material,
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kg detectors, and the expected position and energy resolutions.
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