arXiv subjects

M. Pyle

Publications and source records attributed to M. Pyle.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Phonon Quasidiffusion in Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Large Germanium Detectors

We present results on quasidiffusion studies in large, 3 inch diameter, 1 inch thick [100] high purity germanium crystals, cooled to 50 mK in the vacuum of a dilution refrigerator, and exposed with 59.5 keV gamma-rays from an Am-241 calibration source. We compare data obtained in two different detector types, with different phonon sensor area coverage, with results from a Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo includes phonon quasidiffusion and the generation of phonons created by charge carriers as they are drifted across the detector by ionization readout channels.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

Combined Limits on WIMPs from the CDMS and EDELWEISS Experiments

The CDMS and EDELWEISS collaborations have combined the results of their direct searches for dark matter using cryogenic germanium detectors. The total data set represents 614 kg.d equivalent exposure. A straightforward method of combination was chosen for its simplicity before data were exchanged between experiments. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-section. For a WIMP mass of 90 GeV/c^2, where this analysis is most sensitive, a cross-section of 3.3 x 10^{-44} cm^2 is excluded at 90% CL. At higher WIMP masses, the combination improves the individual limits, by a factor 1.6 above 700 GeV/c^2. Alternative methods of combining the data provide stronger constraints for some ranges of WIMP masses and weaker constraints for others.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Search for inelastic dark matter with the CDMS II experiment

Results are presented from a reanalysis of the entire five-tower data set acquired with the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, with an exposure of 969 kg-days. The analysis window was extended to a recoil energy of 150 keV, and an improved surface-event background-rejection cut was defined to increase the sensitivity of the experiment to the inelastic dark matter (iDM) model. Three dark matter candidates were found between 25 keV and 150 keV. The probability to observe three or more background events in this energy range is 11%. Because of the occurrence of these events the constraints on the iDM parameter space are slightly less stringent than those from our previous analysis, which used an energy window of 10-100 keV.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Results from a Low-Energy Analysis of the CDMS II Germanium Data

We report results from a reanalysis of data from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. Data taken between October 2006 and September 2008 using eight germanium detectors are reanalyzed with a lowered, 2 keV recoil-energy threshold, to give increased sensitivity to interactions from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) with masses below ~10 GeV/c^2. This analysis provides stronger constraints than previous CDMS II results for WIMP masses below 9 GeV/c^2 and excludes parameter space associated with possible low-mass WIMP signals from the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Oblique propagation of electrons in crystals of germanium and silicon at sub-Kelvin temperature in low electric fields

We show that oblique propagation of electrons in crystals of Ge and Si, where the electron velocity does not follow the electric field even on average, can be explained using standard anisotropic theory for indirect gap semiconductors. These effects are pronounced at temperatures below ~1K and for electric fields below ~5V/cm because inter-valley transitions are energetically suppressed forcing electrons to remain in the same band valley throughout their motion and the valleys to separate in position space. To model, we start with an isotropic approximation which incorporates the average properties of the crystals with one phonon mode, and include the ellipsoidal electron valleys by transforming into a momentum space where constant energy surfaces are spheres. We include comparisons of simulated versus measured drift velocities for holes and electrons, and explain the large discrepancy between electrons and holes for shared events in adjacent electrodes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2009

Analysis of the low-energy electron-recoil spectrum of the CDMS experiment

We report on the analysis of the low-energy electron-recoil spectrum from the CDMS II experiment using data with an exposure of 443.2 kg-days. The analysis provides details on the observed counting rate and possible background sources in the energy range of 2 - 8.5 keV. We find no significant excess in the counting rate above background, and compare this observation to the recent DAMA results. In the framework of a conversion of a dark matter particle into electromagnetic energy, our 90% confidence level upper limit of 0.246 events/kg/day at 3.15 keV is lower than the total rate above background observed by DAMA by 8.9$σ$. In absence of any specific particle physics model to provide the scaling in cross section between NaI and Ge, we assume a Z^2 scaling. With this assumption the observed rate in DAMA differs from the upper limit in CDMS by 6.8$σ$. Under the conservative assumption that the modulation amplitude is 6% of the total rate we obtain upper limits on the modulation amplitude a factor of ~2 less than observed by DAMA, constraining some possible interpretations of this modulation.

astro-ph.GA↗