Date: April 3, 2026

Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]

Speaker:  Aditi Pradeep (SLAC) 

Title: Searching in the dark: the low-mass frontier of direct dark matter detection

Abstract: Despite overwhelming astrophysical and cosmological evidence for dark matter, its particle nature remains one of the most compelling open questions in physics. While WIMPs with masses of 100’s GeV or larger have long been the target of direct detection experiments, theoretical and experimental developments increasingly motivate a broader search encompassing sub-GeV and even sub-MeV candidates. In this talk, I will survey the current dark matter landscape, motivating the case for low-mass dark matter searches. I will present the current status and latest results from the SuperCDMS experiment, which uses cryogenic silicon and germanium detectors with Transition Edge Sensor (TES) readout to probe dark matter masses below 10 GeV/c², and place its sensitivity in the context of other direct detection experiments. A central challenge facing most next-generation low-mass searches is the Low Energy Excess (LEE) – an anomalous signal-like background below a few hundred eV observed across multiple experiments and not yet attributed to a known source. I will discuss current efforts to diagnose and mitigate this background with position-based event tagging using a steerable, cryogenic MEMS-based optical calibration source. Finally, I will outline the path toward next-generation experiments, emphasizing advances in target materials and quantum sensing technologies, highlighting the need for advanced readout and characterization techniques to meet evolving experimental demands.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=Tk1XOW1Xd3RYRnlsc2tEYmRWZlVVZz09

Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011

Passcode: 247722