The SWEET project: probing sugar crystals for direct dark matter searches

A. Bento; F. Casadei; E. Cipelli; S. Di Lorenzo; F. Dominsky; P. V. Guillaumon; D. Hauff; A. Langenkaemper; M. Mancuso; B. Mauri; C. Moore; F. Petricca; F. Proebst; M. Zanirato

arXiv · 2510.00068

The SWEET project: probing sugar crystals for direct dark matter searches

A. Bento·F. Casadei·E. Cipelli·S. Di Lorenzo·F. Dominsky·P. V. Guillaumon·D. Hauff·A. Langenkaemper·M. Mancuso·B. Mauri·C. Moore·F. Petricca·F. Proebst·M. Zanirato

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Abstract

Several experiments searching for direct dark matter interactions aim to achieve unprecedented sensitivity to sub-GeV/c$^2$ dark matter masses through elastic scattering with nuclei in various target crystals at cryogenic temperatures. Hydrogen-rich materials, such as organic compounds, are promising candidates for the detection of sub-GeV/c$^2$ dark matter due to favourable kinematics. In this paper, we present for the first time results obtained with a sugar-based phonon detector employing sucrose crystals ($\mathbf{C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}}$), capable of particle detection with associated scintillation light.

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A. Bento, F. Casadei, E. Cipelli, S. Di Lorenzo, F. Dominsky, P. V. Guillaumon, D. Hauff, A. Langenkaemper, M. Mancuso, B. Mauri, C. Moore, F. Petricca, F. Proebst, M. Zanirato. 2025-09-29. The SWEET project: probing sugar crystals for direct dark matter searches. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.00068

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