Speaker
Description
The Direct search Experiment for Light dark matter (DELight) aims at combining the scalability of noble liquid detectors, currently setting the strongest limits on heavy Dark Matter (DM) candidates, and the low energy threshold of solid state detectors, with energy resolutions of the order of 1 eV. These properties are combined with an increased recoil signal coming from the choice of a very light target such as helium. These requirements are essential to tackle the largely unexplored parameter space of sub-GeV candidates DM candidates, typically referred to as Light Dark Matter (LDM).
DELight employs a superfluid helium-4 target instrumented with Large Area MicroCALorimeters (LAMCALs), based on Magnetic MicroCalorimeter (MMC) technology. Superfluid helium offers a scalable target with low nuclear mass, ideal for LDM searches, while also providing both photon and quasiparticle signals, enabling discrimination between interaction types and further reducing backgrounds. The LAMCALs achieve a 1 eV energy resolution, necessary to reach a 20 eV threshold in the first phase of DELight. With an exposure of just 1 kg·day, DELight will probe new regions of the parameter space, achieving sensitivities below 10⁻³⁹ cm² at a LDM mass of 200 MeV/c². We will present the working principle of the DELight experiment and an overview of the latest progress towards its realization.
| Main Contribution topic | Direct detection |
|---|---|
| Secondary contribution topic | Light Dark Matter |