Speaker
Description
The NEWS-G experiment searches for low-mass dark matter using spherical proportional counters (SPCs), a detector technology combining ultra-low energy thresholds with scalable target masses. In an SPC, ionization produced by particle interactions in a gaseous target drifts toward a central high-voltage anode, where amplification in a strong radial electric field allows for the detection of single electrons.
The latest NEWS-G detector, S-140, consists of a 140-cm-diameter ultra-radiopure copper sphere operated underground. A first physics campaign at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM), using methane gas, yielded world-leading constraints on spin-dependent WIMP–proton interactions in the sub-GeV mass range. The detector is now operating at SNOLAB with light noble gases, including neon and helium, to further extend sensitivity to lower-mass dark matter.
Operations at both LSM and SNOLAB have highlighted key experimental challenges in detector characterization, background mitigation, and event discrimination, motivating the development of new analysis and calibration techniques to maximize SPC performance.
This contribution will present the NEWS-G experimental program, the latest results from the LSM campaign, and recent progress in detector operation and data analysis at SNOLAB.
| Main Contribution topic | Direct detection |
|---|---|
| Secondary contribution topic | Light Dark Matter |