Speaker
Description
Unveiling the nature of dark matter is one of the main goals of modern particle physics. Dark matter direct detection experiments aim at solving the problem by measuring tiny energies deposited inside the detector by dark matter particles interacting with the target materials. Several techniques have been developed to explore the full parameter space of cross-sections and dark matter masses. In this talk, I will describe the status of the search for low-mass dark matter performed with cryogenic detectors operated at millikelvin temperature, which have reached energy thresholds down to $O(10)$~eV and sensitivity to dark matter masses down to $O(100)$~MeV/c$^2$. These experiments are all currently limited by an excess of events observed at low energies (below about 200~eV) of unknown origin. A worldwide collaborative effort has been established in the framework of the Excess Workshop to study these events, which are observed in an energy region never explored before by particle detectors. I will provide an update on the observations recently reported by the different collaborations during the latest Excess Workshop. Thanks to their versatility in the use of different target materials, cryogenic detectors have found application also in the cross-check of the annually modulating signal observed by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration. I will conclude by presenting the status of the new cryogenic experiment using NaI targets.
