Speaker
Description
CUPID-0 was a pilot experiment in scintillating cryogenic calorimetry designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. An array of 26 ZnSe crystals coupled to bolometric light detectors was operated continuously for two years. CUPID-0 demonstrated full $\alpha$ to $\beta/\gamma$ background discrimination, set the most stringent limit on the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{82}$Se, and achieved the most precise measurement of the $^{82}$Se two-neutrino double beta decay half-life to date.
The excellent energy resolution, particle identification capability, and low background levels achieved with this technology make it exceptionally well suited to rare-event searches of various kinds, including dark matter candidates. We developed background reconstruction techniques to search for sterile neutrino emission through spectral shape distortions in double beta decay of $^{82}$Se, and for solar axions via continuous exotic spectra predicted for interactions with the detector.
In this contribution, we report the latest results from the first search for dark matter candidates using the CUPID-0 technology, demonstrating the effectiveness of scintillating cryogenic calorimeters in the hunt for dark matter and exotic double beta decay modes.
| Main Contribution topic | Axion / Sterile |
|---|---|
| Secondary contribution topic | Instrumentation for Dark Matter |