Speaker
Description
CRESST (Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers) is a direct-detection experiment that searches for dark matter through elastic scattering off nuclei in cryogenic calorimeters operated at temperatures of about 15 mK. Thanks to energy thresholds of O(10 eV), CRESST achieves sensitivity to dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range, reaching unprecedented performance in this regime.
In 2019, CRESST reported the first observation of a rising event rate at energies below 200 eV. This unknown background component, referred to as the Low Energy Excess (LEE), has emerged as a major limitation to the sensitivity of a wide range of low-threshold direct-detection experiments. Understanding and mitigating its origin are primary objectives of the ongoing CRESST data-taking campaign.
In this contribution, we provide an overview of the CRESST experiment, discuss recent observations and studies dedicated to understanding the LEE, and report on the latest dark matter search results.
| Main Contribution topic | Direct detection |
|---|---|
| Secondary contribution topic | Light Dark Matter |