Speaker
Description
BULLKID-DM is a novel experiment designed for the direct searches of particle dark matter candidates with mass around 1 GeV, or below, and cross-section with nucleons smaller than $10^{-41}$ cm$^2$.
The detector consists of a stack of diced silicon wafers, acting as arrays of particle absorbers, sensed by multiplexed Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs). The target will amount to 800 g subdivided in more than 2000 silicon dice. The aim is to control the background from natural radioactivity by creating a fully active structure and by applying fiducialization techniques. Encouraging results have been reached by the first 20 g prototype of the detector, built with 60 cubic voxels (of dimensions 5.4 x 5.4 x 5 mm$^3$) that are carved out of a single 5 mm thick 3'' silicon wafer.
Here we present the first operation of the 3-wafer demonstrator array (for a total of 60 g and 180 silicon dice), operated on surface with a passive lead shield in order to reduce the background level below $10^5$ d.r.u. We also discuss about the energy calibration, the analysis procedure and the comparison with the simulation conducted by the collaboration.
Finally, we present the plan for the deployment of the experiment at the shielded underground site of Gran Sasso laboratories in Italy. The commissioning will happen in two stages: first, the demonstrator array will be deployed at the beginning of 2026 in the cryo-platform. Once the success of the demonstrator stage is ensured and the setup is fully characterized, the full experimental setup will follow and it is expected to be commissioned at Gran Sasso at the beginning of 2027.
| Collaboration you are representing | BULLKID-DM |
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