Aachen 2019 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 54: Direkte Suche nach Dunkler Materie III

T 54.2: Group Report

Wednesday, March 27, 2019, 16:20–16:40, H09

NaI-based direct search for dark matter with the COSINUS experiment — •Martin Stahlberg for the COSINUS collaboration — Institut für Hochenergiephysik der ÖAW, A-1050 Wien - Austria — Atominstitut, Technical University Vienna, A-1020 Wien - Austria

Presently, the search for dark matter is one of the most prominent fields in physics. Although the claim of an observation of a dark matter modulation signal has been made by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration several years ago, this result is in tension with null results from several other experiments. As none of these experiments use sodium iodide (NaI), a target material dependency remains as one possible explanation of the signal. COSINUS (Cryogenic Observatory for Signals seen in Next-generation Underground Searches) employs scintillating cryogenic calorimeters operated at temperatures of a few mK to directly detect interactions of dark matter particles in a target NaI crystal. This well-tested detection technique comprises two readout channels, a phonon and a light channel, and thereby allows for discrimination of signal and background on an event-by-event basis, with the additional advantage of a low detection threshold for nuclear recoils in the order of several keV. Through the use of NaI as target, a model-independent direct comparison with the DAMA/LIBRA results will be possible. We will report the status of the COSINUS project, as well as first results obtained with prototypes. Finally, an outlook on the planned setup of the experiment will be given.