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We propose the use of transition-edge sensor (TES) single-photon detectors as a simultaneous target and sensor for direct dark matter searches and report results from the first search of this kind. We perform a 489 h science run with a TES device optimized for the detection of 1064 nm photons, with a mass of and an energy threshold of , and set new limits on dark matter interactions with both electrons and nucleons for dark matter with mass below the MeV scale. With their excellent energy resolution, TESs enable search strategies that are complementary to recent results from superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors and kinetic inductance detectors. We show that next-generation TES arrays hold promise to probe new regions of light dark matter parameter space.
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This content will become publicly available on May 1, 2027
First High-Throughput Evaluation of Dark Matter Detector Materials
We perform the first high-throughput search and evaluation of materials that can serve as excellent low-mass dark matter detectors. Using properties of close to 1000 materials from the Materials Project database, we project the sensitivity in dark matter parameter space for experiments constructed from each material, including both absorption and scattering processes between dark matter and electrons. Using the anisotropic materials in the dataset, we further compute the level of daily modulation in interaction rates and the resulting directional sensitivities, highlighting materials with prospects to detect the dark matter wind. Our methods provide the basic tools for the data-driven design of dark matter detectors, and our findings lay the groundwork for the next generation of highly optimized direct searches for dark matter as light as the keV scale. This represents a major step in the application of results from condensed matter physics to dark matter search design.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2309456
- PAR ID:
- 10703992
- Publisher / Repository:
- Physical Review Letters 136, 191801 (2026)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Letters
- Volume:
- 136
- Issue:
- 19
- ISSN:
- 0031-9007
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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