Speaker
Description
The search for sub-GeV dark matter requires novel detector development due to the small expected ionization signal and large backgrounds, many of which still need to be well-modeled. For this reason, to unambiguously detect dark matter, a detector must be able to determine the directionality of the incoming particles so that the daily modulation of the rate can be used to confirm a dark matter signal. This can be accomplished by combining anisotropic scintillating crystals, such as trans-Stilbene, as a detector medium, with an optically-sensitive Skipper CCD as a readout. This is the basis of my proposed work for the GIRA fellowship. I will be working on the development of an above-ground prototype of the detector including characterization of the Skipper-CCDs and determining relevant backgrounds. This will lead to an initial underground data run and preliminary exclusion rates. I will discuss the connections between this and my work on a second light dark matter experiment based at MIT, which will use Quantum Dots as the detector medium and Silicon Nanowire Single Photon Detectors (SNSPDs) as the readout.
