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Experimental Particle and Astro-Particle Physics Seminar
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Europe/Zurich
Description
Abstract: Quantum sensing techniques are emerging as powerful tools in experimental physics, enabling measurements at energy and time scales that were previously inaccessible. On the low-background front, non-ionizing energy loss applications will be highlighted through the DAMIC-M experiment, where Skipper CCDs with sub-electron resolution (<1 e⁻, ~0.2 e⁻ at 650 skips) and exposures at the 1 kg·day level have excluded benchmark hidden-sector models over a broad range of sub-GeV masses. Lattice defect spectroscopy, exploiting controlled vacancy and interstitial states in silicon, offers sensitivity to low-energy nuclear recoils down to a few eV, opening a new window on the low-energy transfer regime. At the high-energy frontier, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) bring quantum-limited timing to collider physics: NbTiN and NbN devices tested with 160 GeV pion beams and β-sources have demonstrated picosecond timing, ultra-low noise, and clear single-particle response. Together, these developments illustrate how quantum-enhanced detectors are redefining the experimental frontier in both dark matter searches and precision tracking.