Dark Matter “Wind” Might Lastly Be Detectable With New Superconducting Tech

Physicists have created a novel detector able to probing darkish matter particles at unprecedentedly low lots.

About 80 % of the universe’s mass is believed to be darkish matter, but the make-up and group of its particles stay largely unknown, leaving physicists with elementary questions. To examine this elusive materials, scientists are working to detect photons, or mild particles, that may be produced when darkish matter particles collide with the peculiar matter we all know.

Up to now, most searches have focused darkish matter with lots similar to acquainted elementary particles. If the particles are lighter than an electron, the main devices in use in the present day, which depend on liquid xenon, are unlikely to register them.

No experiment has straight noticed darkish matter to this point. This absence nonetheless issues, because it guidelines out darkish matter particles throughout the particular mass vary and interplay strengths already examined.

New machine delicate to lower-energy occasions

An worldwide group led by Laura Baudis, Titus Neupert, Björn Penning, and Andreas Schilling from UZH’s Department of Physics has now been capable of probe the existence of darkish matter particles throughout a large mass vary beneath one mega electron volt (MeV). Using an improved superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD), the researchers reached a sensitivity threshold of about one-tenth the mass of an electron, above which darkish matter particles are extremely unlikely to exist.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to search for dark matter particles in such a low mass range, made possible by a new detector technology,” says first writer Laura Baudis.

In a 2022 proof of idea, the researchers had examined the primary SNSPD machine that’s extremely delicate to lower-energy photons. When a photon strikes the nanowire, it heats it up slightly and causes it to instantly lose its superconductivity. The wire briefly becomes a regular conductor, and the resulting increase in electrical resistance can be measured.

Detecting smallest dark matter particles

For their latest experiment, the UZH scientists optimized their SNSPD for dark matter detection. In particular, they equipped it with superconducting microwires instead of nanowires to maximize its cross-section. They also gave it a thin, planar geometry that makes it highly sensitive to changes in direction.

Scientists assume that the Earth passes through a “wind” of dark matter particles, and the particle’s direction therefore shifts over the course of the year depending on relative velocity. A device capable of picking up directional changes can help to filter out non-dark-matter events.

“Further technological improvements to the SNSPD could enable us to detect signals from dark matter particles with even smaller masses. We also want to deploy the system underground, where it will be better shielded from other sources of radiation,” Titus Neupert says.

Below the mass range of electrons, current models to describe dark matter face considerable astrophysical and cosmological constraints.

Reference: “First Sub-MeV Dark Matter Search with the QROCODILE Experiment Using Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors” by Laura Baudis, Alexander Bismark, Noah Brugger, Chiara Capelli, Ilya Charaev, Jose Cuenca García, Guy Daniel Hadas, Yonit Hochberg, Judith K. Hohmann, Alexander Kavner, Christian Koos, Artem Kuzmin, Benjamin V. Lehmann, Severin Nägeli, Titus Neupert, Bjoern Penning, Diego Ramírez García and Andreas Schilling, 20 August 2025, Physical Review Letters.
DOI: 10.1103/4hb6-f6jl

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