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CDMS research group at the University of Zurich
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Over the past decade, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS)
experiment has provided
world-leading sensitivity for the direct detection of weakly
interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. The final exposure of
our low-temperature germanium particle detectors at the Soudan
Underground Laboratory yielded two candidate events, with an expected
background of 0.9±0.2 events. The probability of observing two
or more background events is 23%. Thus, this is not a statistically
significant evidence for a WIMP signal. Constraints on the
WIMP-parameter space are shown in the following figure. Our data set an
upper limit
on the WIMP-nucleon
elastic-scattering spin-independent cross-section (red/solid) of 7.0x10-44
cm2
for a WIMP of mass 70 GeV/c2 at the 90% confidence level.
Combining this result with all previous CDMS II data gives an upper
limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section (black/solid)
of 3.8x10-44 cm2
for a WIMP of mass 70 GeV/c2.
We also exclude new parameter space in recently proposed
inelastic dark matter models. As shown in the next figure the CDMS data
disfavor all but a narrow
region of the parameter space allowed by DAMA/LIBRA that resides at a
WIMP mass of ~100 GeV/c2 and mass splittings of 80-140 keV.
Our group is mainly involved in data analysis and calculating
constraints on various dark matter candidates like Axions and WIMPs
emerging from Universal Extra Dimensions. More information about the
experiment as well as links to recent publications can be found on the CDMS webpage.
CDMS in the news:
Nature
Slashdot
BBC
Science
UF PR
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