Speaker
Prof.
Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano
(MIT)
Description
Cryogenic dark matter experiments composed of semiconductors operated at milliKelvin temperatures are one of the leading technologies in dark matter searches, currently setting the most stringent limits to the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section for dark matter masses between 2-6 GeV. I will review the principles of direct dark matter detection and the various experiments using this technique, which offers exquisite background rejection capabilities for zero-background dark matter searches, the ability to achieve very low experimental thresholds for light-mass dark matter searches, and the ability to field different target materials which is crucial in the interpretation of potential positive signals.
