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arXiv · 1804.00088

SENSEI: First Direct-Detection Constraints on sub-GeV Dark Matter from a Surface Run

The SENSEI Collaboration·Michael Crisler·Rouven Essig·Juan Estrada·Guillermo Fernandez·Javier Tiffenberg·Miguel Sofo Haro·Tomer Volansky·Tien-Tien Yu
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Abstract

The Sub-Electron-Noise Skipper CCD Experimental Instrument (SENSEI) uses the recently developed Skipper-CCD technology to search for electron recoils from the interaction of sub-GeV dark matter particles with electrons in silicon. We report first results from a prototype SENSEI detector, which collected 0.019 gram-days of commissioning data above ground at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. These commissioning data are sufficient to set new direct-detection constraints for dark matter particles with masses between ~500 keV and 4 MeV. Moreover, since these data were taken on the surface, they disfavor previously allowed strongly interacting dark matter particles with masses between ~500 keV and a few hundred MeV. We discuss the implications of these data for several dark matter candidates, including one model proposed to explain the anomalously large 21-cm signal observed by the EDGES Collaboration. SENSEI is the first experiment dedicated to the search for electron recoils from dark matter, and these results demonstrate the power of the Skipper-CCD technology for dark matter searches.

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The SENSEI Collaboration, Michael Crisler, Rouven Essig, Juan Estrada, Guillermo Fernandez, Javier Tiffenberg, Miguel Sofo Haro, Tomer Volansky, Tien-Tien Yu. 2018-09-11. SENSEI: First Direct-Detection Constraints on sub-GeV Dark Matter from a Surface Run. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.121.061803

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