2002/03/31 by CDMS Collaboration, D. Abrams, D. S. Akerib +43 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Cross section (physics) #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark matter #Nuclear physics #Nucleon #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #WIMP #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.66.122003
published as Phys.Rev.D66:122003,2002 · 40 pages, 49 figures (4 in color), submitted to Phys. Rev. D; v.2:clarified conclusions, added content and references based on referee's and readers' comments; v.3: clarified introductory sections, added figure based on referee's comments
arxiv created 2002/08/16 · openalex publication_date 2002/12/20 · arxiv updated 2012/08/27 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) employs low-temperature Ge and Si detectors to search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their elastic-scattering interactions with nuclei while discriminating against interactions of background particles. For recoil energies above 10 keV, events due to background photons are rejected with >99.9% efficiency, and surface events are rejected with >95% efficiency. The estimate of the background due to neutrons is based primarily on the observation of multiple-scatter events that should all be neutrons. Data selection is determined primarily by examining calibration data and vetoed events. Resulting efficiencies should be accurate to \ensuremath∼10%. Results of CDMS data from 1998 and 1999 with a relaxed fiducial-volume cut (resulting in 15.8 kg days exposure on Ge) are consistent with an earlier analysis with a more restrictive fiducial-volume cut. Twenty-three WIMP candidate events are observed, but these events are consistent with a background from neutrons in all ways tested. Resulting limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic-scattering cross section exclude unexplored parameter space for WIMPs with masses between 10--70GeV/c2. These limits border, but do not exclude, parameter space allowed by supersymmetry models and accelerator constraints. Results are compatible with some regions reported as allowed at 3\ensuremathσ by the annual-modulation measurement of the DAMA Collaboration. However, under the assumptions of standard WIMP interactions and a standard halo, the results are incompatible with the DAMA most likely value at >99.9% confidence level (C.L.), and are incompatible with the model-independent annual-modulation signal of DAMA at 99.99% C.L. in the asymptotic limit.