Heidelberg 2022 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 77: Search for Dark Matter 4

T 77.6: Talk

Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 17:30–17:45, T-H36

Low Temperature MMC-based X-ray Detectors for IAXO — •Daniel Unger, Andreas Abeln, Daniel Behrend-Uriarte, Daniel Hengstler, Andreas Fleischmann, Christian Enss, and Loredana Gastaldo — Kirchhoff Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University

Axion helioscopes search for evidence of axion-like particles (ALPs) produced in the Sun. Via the generic ALP-photon coupling, a strong magnetic field would convert ALPs into photons which could then be detected by low background and high efficiency X-ray detectors. Having also detectors with good energy resolution and low energy threshold would in addition in case of discovery allow to investigate ALP properties and generation mechanisms in the Sun. We propose to use low temperature metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) for the International Axion Observatory (IAXO). We present the current state of our detector system developed for IAXO containing a two-dimensional 64-pixel MMC array covering an active area of 16 mm² with a fill factor of 93 %. We achieve an average energy resolution of 6 eV FWHM allowing for energy thresholds well below 100 eV. The results obtained during experiments with different experimental configurations show a background reduction in the case of low-Z material directly surrounding the active part of the detector. In the future, active and passive shields will be used to reduce the background further. The obtained results highlight that MMC-based arrays are a suitable technology for helioscopes to discover and study ALPs.