The Direct Search Experiment for Light Dark Matter (DELight): Overview and Perspectives

TL;DR

DELight is a new experiment using superfluid helium and advanced microcalorimeters designed to detect low mass dark matter particles below a few GeV, aiming to explore uncharted parameter space.

Contribution

It introduces a novel detector setup with superfluid helium and MMC technology specifically optimized for low mass dark matter detection.

Findings

Design of a superfluid helium target with microcalorimeters

Projected sensitivity to low mass dark matter

Ongoing R&D for detector optimization

Abstract

Driven by the null results in the searches for dark matter, the field of direct dark matter detection is constantly evolving to push new frontiers. Ultimately, a vast parameter space for dark matter masses below a few GeV is yet to be explored. That said, low mass dark matter candidates necessitate novel detector designs with lower thresholds and alternative target materials. The Direct search Experiment for Light dark matter (DELight) will deploy a target of superfluid $^4$He instrumented with large area microcalorimeters (LAMCALs) based on magnetic microcalorimeter (MMC) technology in a setup optimized for low mass dark matter searches. This paper presents an overview of this novel upcoming experiment, including detection technology, sensitivity goals and R&D studies.