A Search for Low-Mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles Using Voltage-Assisted Calorimetric Ionization Detection in the SuperCDMS Experiment

Journal Article · Mon Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.041302· OSTI ID:1130172

Agnese, R.; Anderson, A. J.; Asai, M.; Balakishiyeva, D.; Basu Thakur, R.; Bauer, D. A.; Billard, J.; Borgland, A.; Bowles, M. A.; Brandt, D.; Brink, P. L.; Bunker, R.; Cabrera, B.; Caldwell, D. O.; Cerdeno, D. G.; Chagani, H.; Cooley, J.; Cornell, B.; Crewdson, C. H.; Cushman, Priscilla B. ; Daal, M.; Di Stefano, P. C.; Doughty, T.; Esteban, L.; Fallows, S.; Figueroa-Feliciano, E.; Godfrey, G. L.; Golwala, S. R.; Hall, Jeter C.; Harris, H. R.; Hertel, S. A.; Hofer, T.; Holmgren, D.; Hsu, L.; Huber, M. E.; Jastram, A.; Kamaev, O.; Kara, B.; Kelsey, M. H.; Kennedy, A.; Kiveni, M.; Koch, K.; Loer, B.; Lopez Asamar, E.; Mahapatra, R.; Mandic, V.; Martinez, C.; McCarthy, K. A.; Mirabolfathi, N.; Moffatt, R. A.; Moore, D. C.; Nadeau, P.; Nelson, R. H.; Page, K.; Partridge, R.; Pepin, M.; Phipps, A.; Prasad, K.; Pyle, M.; Qiu, H.; Rau, W.; Redi, P.; Reisetter, A.; Ricci, Y.; Saab, T.; Sadoulet, B.; Sander, J.; Schneck, K.; Schnee, Richard; Scorza, S.; Serfass, B.; Shank, B.; Speller, D.; Villano, A. N.; Welliver, B.; Wright, D. H.; Yellin, S.; Yen, J. J.; Young, B. A.; Zhang, J.

SuperCDMS is an experiment designed to directly detect weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a favored candidate for dark matter ubiquitous in the Universe. In this Letter, we present WIMP-search results using a calorimetric technique we call CDMSlite, which relies on voltage-assisted Luke-Neganov amplification of the ionization energy deposited by particle interactions. The data were collected with a single 0.6 kg germanium detector running for ten live days at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. A low energy threshold of (electron equivalent) was obtained, which allows us to constrain new WIMP-nucleon spin-independent parameter space for WIMP masses below 6 GeV/c².

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Contributing Organization: SuperCDMS Collaboration
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1130172
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-98641
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 112, Issue 4; ISSN 0031-9007
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
WIMPs
CDMS
Soudan Underground Laboratory
dark matter