Results on MeV-scale dark matter from a gram-scale cryogenic calorimeter operated above ground
Abstract Models for light dark matter particles with masses below 1 GeV/c $$^2$$ 2 are a natural and well-motivated alternative to so-far unobserved weakly interacting massive particles. Gram-scale cryogenic calorimeters provide the required detector performance to detect these particles and extend...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2017-09-01
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| Series: | European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5223-9 |
| Summary: | Abstract Models for light dark matter particles with masses below 1 GeV/c $$^2$$ 2 are a natural and well-motivated alternative to so-far unobserved weakly interacting massive particles. Gram-scale cryogenic calorimeters provide the required detector performance to detect these particles and extend the direct dark matter search program of CRESST. A prototype 0.5 g sapphire detector developed for the $$\nu $$ ν -cleus experiment has achieved an energy threshold of $$E_{th}=(19.7\pm 0.9)$$ E t h = ( 19.7 ± 0.9 ) eV. This is one order of magnitude lower than for previous devices and independent of the type of particle interaction. The result presented here is obtained in a setup above ground without significant shielding against ambient and cosmogenic radiation. Although operated in a high-background environment, the detector probes a new range of light-mass dark matter particles previously not accessible by direct searches. We report the first limit on the spin-independent dark matter particle-nucleon cross section for masses between 140 and 500 MeV/c $$^2$$ 2 . |
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| ISSN: | 1434-6044 1434-6052 |