First Dark Matter Constraints from a SuperCDMS Single-Charge Sensitive Detector

TL;DR

This paper reports the first constraints on inelastic electron-scattering dark matter and dark photon absorption using a highly sensitive SuperCDMS detector, achieving significant improvements in low-mass dark matter detection with minimal exposure.

Contribution

It introduces a prototype SuperCDMS detector with single-charge sensitivity to set new limits on low-mass dark matter and dark photons, demonstrating the potential of phonon-mediated semiconductor detectors.

Findings

Established new limits on inelastic electron-scattering dark matter.

Achieved competitive sensitivity to dark photons with minimal exposure.

Demonstrated the effectiveness of single-electron-hole pair detection in dark matter searches.

Abstract

We present the first limits on inelastic electron-scattering dark matter and dark photon absorption using a prototype SuperCDMS detector having a charge resolution of 0.1 electron-hole pairs (CDMS HVeV, a 0.93 gram CDMS HV device). These electron-recoil limits significantly improve experimental constraints on dark matter particles with masses as low as 1 MeV/$\mathrm{c^2}$. We demonstrate a sensitivity to dark photons competitive with other leading approaches but using substantially less exposure (0.49 gram days). These results demonstrate the scientific potential of phonon-mediated semiconductor detectors that are sensitive to single electronic excitations.