arXiv subjects

A. Broniatowski

Publications and source records attributed to A. Broniatowski.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Results from a Prototype TES Detector for the Ricochet Experiment

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) offers valuable sensitivity to physics beyond the Standard Model. The Ricochet experiment will use cryogenic solid-state detectors to perform a precision measurement of the CE$ν$NS spectrum induced by the high neutrino flux from the Institut Laue-Langevin nuclear reactor. The experiment will employ an array of detectors, each with a mass of $\sim$30 g and a targeted energy threshold of 50 eV. Nine of these detectors (the "Q-Array") will be based on a novel Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) readout style, in which the TES devices are thermally coupled to the absorber using a gold wire bond. We present initial characterization of a Q-Array-style detector using a 1 gram silicon absorber, obtaining a baseline root-mean-square resolution of less than 40 eV.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

First demonstration of 30 eVee ionization energy resolution with Ricochet germanium cryogenic bolometers

The future Ricochet experiment aims to search for new physics in the electroweak sector by measuring the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering process from reactor antineutrinos with high precision down to the sub-100 eV nuclear recoil energy range. While the Ricochet collaboration is currently building the experimental setup at the reactor site, it is also finalizing the cryogenic detector arrays that will be integrated into the cryostat at the Institut Laue Langevin in early 2024. In this paper, we report on recent progress from the Ge cryogenic detector technology, called the CryoCube. More specifically, we present the first demonstration of a 30~eVee (electron equivalent) baseline ionization resolution (RMS) achieved with an early design of the detector assembly and its dedicated High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) based front-end electronics. This represents an order of magnitude improvement over the best ionization resolutions obtained on similar heat-and-ionization germanium cryogenic detectors from the EDELWEISS and SuperCDMS dark matter experiments, and a factor of three improvement compared to the first fully-cryogenic HEMT-based preamplifier coupled to a CDMS-II germanium detector. Additionally, we discuss the implications of these results in the context of the future Ricochet experiment and its expected background mitigation performance.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Tagging and localisation of ionizing events using NbSi transition edge phonon sensors for Dark Matter searches

In the context of direct searches of sub-GeV Dark Matter particles with germanium detectors, the EDELWEISS collaboration has tested a new technique to tag ionizing events using NbSi transition edge athermal phonon sensors. The emission of the athermal phonons generated by the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke effect associated with the drift of electrons and holes through the detectors is used to tag ionization events generated in specific parts of the detector localized in front of the NbSi sensor and to reject by more than a factor 5 (at 90% C.L.) the background from heat-only events that dominates the spectrum above 3 keV. This method is able to improve by a factor 2.8 the previous limit on spin-independent interactions of 1 GeV/c2 WIMPs obtained with the same detector and data set but without this tagging technique.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Search for sub-GeV Dark Matter via Migdal effect with an EDELWEISS germanium detector with NbSi TES sensors

The EDELWEISS collaboration reports on the search for Dark Matter (DM) particle interactions via Migdal effect with masses between $32$ MeV$\cdot$c$^{-2}$ to $2$ GeV$\cdot$c$^{-2}$ using a $200$ g cryogenic Ge detector sensitive to simultaneously heat and ionization signals and operated underground at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane in France. The phonon signal was read out using a Transition Edge Sensor made of a NbSi thin film. The detector was biased at $66$ V in order to benefit from the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke amplification and resulting in a resolution on the energy of electron recoils of $4.46$ eV$_{ee}$ (RMS) and an analysis threshold of $30$ eV$_{ee}$. The sensitivity is limited by a dominant background not associated to charge creation in the detector. The search constrains a new region of parameter space for cross-sections down to $10^{-29}$ cm$^2$ and masses between $32$ and $100$ MeV$\cdot$c$^{-2}$. The achieved low threshold with the NbSi sensor shows the relevance of its use for athermal-phonon sensitive devices for low-mass DM searches.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Fast neutron background characterization of the future Ricochet experiment at the ILL research nuclear reactor

The future Ricochet experiment aims at searching for new physics in the electroweak sector by providing a high precision measurement of the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CENNS) process down to the sub-100 eV nuclear recoil energy range. The experiment will deploy a kg-scale low-energy-threshold detector array combining Ge and Zn target crystals 8.8 meters away from the 58 MW research nuclear reactor core of the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France. Currently, the Ricochet collaboration is characterizing the backgrounds at its future experimental site in order to optimize the experiment's shielding design. The most threatening background component, which cannot be actively rejected by particle identification, consists of keV-scale neutron-induced nuclear recoils. These initial fast neutrons are generated by the reactor core and surrounding experiments (reactogenics), and by the cosmic rays producing primary neutrons and muon-induced neutrons in the surrounding materials. In this paper, we present the Ricochet neutron background characterization using $^3$He proportional counters which exhibit a high sensitivity to thermal, epithermal and fast neutrons. We compare these measurements to the Ricochet Geant4 simulations to validate our reactogenic and cosmogenic neutron background estimations. Eventually, we present our estimated neutron background for the future Ricochet experiment and the resulting CENNS detection significance.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering: Terrestrial and astrophysical applications

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) is a process in which neutrinos scatter on a nucleus which acts as a single particle. Though the total cross section is large by neutrino standards, CE$ν$NS has long proven difficult to detect, since the deposited energy into the nucleus is $\sim$ keV. In 2017, the COHERENT collaboration announced the detection of CE$ν$NS using a stopped-pion source with CsI detectors, followed up the detection of CE$ν$NS using an Ar target. The detection of CE$ν$NS has spawned a flurry of activities in high-energy physics, inspiring new constraints on beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, and new experimental methods. The CE$ν$NS process has important implications for not only high-energy physics, but also astrophysics, nuclear physics, and beyond. This whitepaper discusses the scientific importance of CE$ν$NS, highlighting how present experiments such as COHERENT are informing theory, and also how future experiments will provide a wealth of information across the aforementioned fields of physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Low-mass Dark Matter searches with EDELWEISS

The EDELWEISS collaboration searches for light Dark Matter (DM) particles using germanium detectors equipped with a charge and phonon signal readout. Using the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke effect, an rms resolution of 0.53 electron-hole pair was obtained on a massive (33.4 g) Ge detector operated underground at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane. This record sensitivity made possible a search for Dark Photon DM down to 1 eV/c2 and to DM-electron interactions below 1 MeV/c2. This demonstrates for the first time the high relevance of cryogenic Ge detectors in searches at low thresholds and is an important step of the development of Ge detectors with improved performance in the context of the EDELWEISS-SubGeV program.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

First germanium-based constraints on sub-MeV Dark Matter with the EDELWEISS experiment

The EDELWEISS collaboration has performed a search for Dark Matter (DM) particles interacting with electrons using a 33.4 g Ge cryogenic detector operated underground at the LSM. A charge resolution of 0.53 electron-hole pairs (RMS) has been achieved using the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke amplification with a bias of 78 V. We set the first Ge-based constraints on sub-MeV/c$^{2}$ DM particles interacting with electrons, as well as on dark photons down to 1 eV/c$^2$. These are competitive with other searches. In particular, new limits are set on the kinetic mixing of dark photon DM in a so far unconstrained parameter space region in the 6 to 9 eV/c$^2$ mass range. These results demonstrate the high relevance of cryogenic Ge detectors for the search of DM interactions producing eV-scale electron signals.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

EXCESS workshop: Descriptions of rising low-energy spectra

Many low-threshold experiments observe sharply rising event rates of yet unknown origins below a few hundred eV, and larger than expected from known backgrounds. Due to the significant impact of this excess on the dark matter or neutrino sensitivity of these experiments, a collective effort has been started to share the knowledge about the individual observations. For this, the EXCESS Workshop was initiated. In its first iteration in June 2021, ten rare event search collaborations contributed to this initiative via talks and discussions. The contributing collaborations were CONNIE, CRESST, DAMIC, EDELWEISS, MINER, NEWS-G, NUCLEUS, RICOCHET, SENSEI and SuperCDMS. They presented data about their observed energy spectra and known backgrounds together with details about the respective measurements. In this paper, we summarize the presented information and give a comprehensive overview of the similarities and differences between the distinct measurements. The provided data is furthermore publicly available on the workshop's data repository together with a plotting tool for visualization.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

High impedance TES bolometers for EDELWEISS

The EDELWEISS collaboration aims for direct detection of light dark matter using germanium cryogenic detectors with low threshold phonon sensor technologies and efficient charge readout designs. We describe here the development of Ge bolometers equipped with high impedance thermistors based on a NbxSi1-x TES alloy. High aspect ratio spiral designs allow the TES impedance to match with JFET or HEMT front-end amplifiers. We detail the behavior of the superconducting transition properties of these sensors and the detector optimization in terms of sensitivity to out-of-equilibrium phonons. We report preliminary results of a 200 g Ge detector that was calibrated using 71Ge activation by neutrons at the LSM underground laboratory.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Ricochet Progress and Status

We present an overview of recent progress towards the Ricochet coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering CE$ν$NS experiment. The ILL research reactor in Grenoble, France has been selected as the experiment site, after in situ studies of vibration and particle backgrounds. We present background rate estimates specific to that site, along with descriptions of the planned CryoCube and Q-Array detector payloads.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Searching for low-mass dark matter particles with a massive Ge bolometer operated above-ground

The EDELWEISS collaboration has performed a search for dark matter particles with masses below the GeV-scale with a 33.4-g germanium cryogenic detector operated in a surface lab. The energy deposits were measured using a neutron-transmutation-doped Ge thermal sensor with a 17.7~eV (RMS) baseline heat energy resolution leading to a 60~eV analysis energy threshold. Despite a moderate lead shielding and the high-background environment, the first sub-GeV spin-independent dark matter limit based on a germanium target has been achieved. The experiment provides the most stringent, nuclear recoil based, above-ground limit on spin-independent interactions above 600~MeV/c$^{2}$. The experiment also provides the most stringent limits on spin-dependent interactions with protons and neutrons below 1.3~GeV/c$^{2}$. Furthermore, the dark matter search results were studied in the context of Strongly Interacting Massive Particles, taking into account Earth-shielding effects, for which new regions of the available parameter space have been excluded. Finally, the dark matter search has also been extended to interactions via the Migdal effect, resulting for the first time in the exclusion of particles with masses between 45 and 150~MeV/c$^{2}$ with spin-independent cross sections ranging from $10^{-29}$ to $10^{-26}$~cm$^2$.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Searches for electron interactions induced by new physics in the EDELWEISS-III germanium bolometers

We make use of the EDELWEISS-III array of germanium bolometers to search for electron interactions at the keV scale induced by phenomena beyond the Standard Model. A 90% C.L. lower limit is set on the electron lifetime decaying to invisibles, $τ> 1.2\times 10^{24}$ years. We investigate the emission of axions or axionlike particles (ALPs) by the Sun, constraining the coupling parameters $g_{ae}<1.1\times 10^{-11}$ and $g_{ae}\times g_{aN}^{\rm eff} < 3.5\times 10^{-17}$ at 90% C.L. in the massless limit. We also directly search for the absorption of bosonic dark matter particles that would constitute our local galactic halo. Limits are placed on the couplings of ALPs or hidden photon dark matter in the mass range $0.8 - 500$ keV/c$^2$. Prospects for searching for dark matter particles with masses down to 150 eV/c$^2$ using improved detectors are presented.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Complete event-by-event $α$/$γ(β)$ separation in a full-size TeO$_2$ CUORE bolometer by Neganov-Luke-magnified light detection

In the present work, we describe the results obtained with a large ($\approx 133$ cm$^3$) TeO$_2$ bolometer, with a view to a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay ($0νββ$) of $^{130}$Te. We demonstrate an efficient $α$ particle discrimination (99.9\%) with a high acceptance of the $0νββ$ signal (about 96\%), expected at $\approx 2.5$ MeV. This unprecedented result was possible thanks to the superior performance (10 eV rms baseline noise) of a Neganov-Luke-assisted germanium bolometer used to detect a tiny (70 eV) light signal from the TeO$_2$ detector, dominated by $γ$($β$)-induced Cherenkov radiation but exhibiting also a clear scintillation component. The obtained results represent a major breakthrough towards the TeO$_2$-based version of CUORE Upgrade with Particle IDentification (CUPID), a ton-scale cryogenic $0νββ$ experiment proposed as a follow-up to the CUORE project with particle identification. The CUORE experiment began recently a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{130}$Te with an array of 988 125-cm$^3$ TeO$_2$ bolometers. The lack of $α$ discrimination in CUORE makes $α$ decays at the detector surface the dominant background component, at the level of $\approx 0.01$ counts/(keV kg y) in the region of interest. We show here, for the first time with a CUORE-size bolometer and using the same technology as CUORE for the readout of both heat and light signals, that surface $α$ background can be fully rejected.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Development of $^{100}$Mo-containing scintillating bolometers for a high-sensitivity neutrinoless double-beta decay search

This paper reports on the development of a technology involving $^{100}$Mo-enriched scintillating bolometers, compatible with the goals of CUPID, a proposed next-generation bolometric experiment to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Large mass ($\sim$1~kg), high optical quality, radiopure $^{100}$Mo-containing zinc and lithium molybdate crystals have been produced and used to develop high performance single detector modules based on 0.2--0.4~kg scintillating bolometers. In particular, the energy resolution of the lithium molybdate detectors near the $Q$-value of the double-beta transition of $^{100}$Mo (3034~keV) is 4--6~keV FWHM. The rejection of the $α$-induced dominant background above 2.6~MeV is better than 8$σ$. Less than 10~$μ$Bq/kg activity of $^{232}$Th ($^{228}$Th) and $^{226}$Ra in the crystals is ensured by boule recrystallization. The potential of $^{100}$Mo-enriched scintillating bolometers to perform high sensitivity double-beta decay searches has been demonstrated with only 10~kg$\times$d exposure: the two neutrino double-beta decay half-life of $^{100}$Mo has been measured with the up-to-date highest accuracy as $T_{1/2}$ = [6.90 $\pm$ 0.15(stat.) $\pm$ 0.37(syst.)] $\times$ 10$^{18}$~yr. Both crystallization and detector technologies favor lithium molybdate, which has been selected for the ongoing construction of the CUPID-0/Mo demonstrator, containing several kg of $^{100}$Mo.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Optimizing EDELWEISS detectors for low-mass WIMP searches

The physics potential of EDELWEISS detectors for the search of low-mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) is studied. Using a data-driven background model, projected exclusion limits are computed using frequentist and multivariate analysis approaches, namely profile likelihood and boosted decision tree. Both current and achievable experimental performance are considered. The optimal strategy for detector optimization depends critically on whether the emphasis is put on WIMP masses below or above $\sim$ 5 GeV/c$^2$. The projected sensitivity for the next phase of the EDELWEISS-III experiment at the Modane Underground Laboratory (LSM) for low-mass WIMP search is presented. By 2018 an upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-section of $σ_{SI} = 7 \times 10^{-42}$ cm$^2$ is expected for a WIMP mass in the range 2$-$5 GeV/c$^2$. The requirements for a future hundred-kilogram scale experiment designed to reach the bounds imposed by the coherent scattering of solar neutrinos are also described. By improving the ionization resolution down to 50 eV$_{ee}$, we show that such an experiment installed in an even lower background environment (e.g. at SNOLAB) should allow to observe about 80 $^8$B neutrino events after discrimination.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Performance of the EDELWEISS-III experiment for direct dark matter searches

We present the results of measurements demonstrating the efficiency of the EDELWEISS-III array of cryogenic germanium detectors for direct dark matter searches. The experimental setup and the FID (Fully Inter-Digitized) detector array is described, as well as the efficiency of the double measurement of heat and ionization signals in background rejection. For the whole set of 24 FID detectors used for coincidence studies, the baseline resolutions for the fiducial ionization energy are mainly below 0.7 keV$_{ee}$ (FHWM) whereas the baseline resolutions for heat energies are mainly below 1.5 keV$_{ee}$ (FWHM). The response to nuclear recoils as well as the very good discrimination capability of the FID design has been measured with an AmBe source. The surface $β$- and $α$-decay rejection power of $R_{\rm surf} < 4 \times 10^{-5}$ per $α$ at 90% C.L. has been determined with a $^{210}$Pb source, the rejection of bulk $γ$-ray events has been demonstrated using $γ$-calibrations with $^{133}$Ba sources leading to a value of $R_{γ{\rm -mis-fid}} < 2.5 \times 10^{-6}$ at 90% C.L.. The current levels of natural radioactivity measured in the detector array are shown as the rate of single $γ$ background. The fiducial volume fraction of the FID detectors has been measured to a weighted average value of $(74.6 \pm 0.4)\%$ using the cosmogenic activation of the $^{65}$Zn and $^{68,71}$Ge isotopes. The stability and uniformity of the detector response is also discussed. The achieved resolutions, thresholds and background levels of the upgraded EDELWEISS-III detectors in their setup are thus well suited to the direct search of WIMP dark matter over a large mass range.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Improved EDELWEISS-III sensitivity for low-mass WIMPs using a profile likelihood approach

We report on a dark matter search for a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) in the mass range $m_χ\in [4, 30]\,\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$ with the EDELWEISS-III experiment. A 2D profile likelihood analysis is performed on data from eight selected detectors with the lowest energy thresholds leading to a combined fiducial exposure of 496 kg-days. External backgrounds from $γ$- and $β$-radiation, recoils from $^{206}$Pb and neutrons as well as detector intrinsic backgrounds were modelled from data outside the region of interest and constrained in the analysis. The basic data selection and most of the background models are the same as those used in a previously published analysis based on Boosted Decision Trees (BDT). For the likelihood approach applied in the analysis presented here, a larger signal efficiency and a subtraction of the expected background lead to a higher sensitivity, especially for the lowest WIMP masses probed. No statistically significant signal was found and upper limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross section can be set with a hypothesis test based on the profile likelihood test statistics. The 90% C.L. exclusion limit set for WIMPs with $m_χ= 4\,\mathrm{GeV/}c^2$ is $1.6 \times 10^{-39}\,\mathrm{cm^2}$, which is an improvement of a factor of seven with respect to the BDT-based analysis. For WIMP masses above $15\,\mathrm{GeV/}c^2$ the exclusion limits found with both analyses are in good agreement.

astro-ph.CO↗