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  • Featured in Physics
  • Open Access

First Sub-MeV Dark Matter Search with the QROCODILE Experiment Using Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors

Laura Baudis1, Alexander Bismark1, Noah Brugger1, Chiara Capelli1, Ilya Charaev1, Jose Cuenca García1, Guy Daniel Hadas2, Yonit Hochberg2,3, Judith K. Hohmann4,5 et al.

Alexander Kavner1, Christian Koos5, Artem Kuzmin5, Benjamin V. Lehmann6, Severin Nägeli1, Titus Neupert1, Bjoern Penning1, Diego Ramírez García1, and Andreas Schilling1

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 081002 – Published 20 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/4hb6-f6jl

Abstract

We present the first results from the Quantum Resolution-Optimized Cryogenic Observatory for Dark matter Incident at Low Energy (QROCODILE). The QROCODILE experiment uses a microwire-based superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) as a target and sensor for dark matter scattering and absorption, and is sensitive to energy deposits as low as 0.11 eV. We introduce the experimental configuration and report new world-leading constraints on the interactions of sub-MeV dark matter particles with masses as low as 30 keV. The thin-layer geometry of the system provides anisotropy in the interaction rate, enabling directional sensitivity. In addition, we leverage the coupling between phonons and quasiparticles in the detector to simultaneously constrain interactions with both electrons and nucleons. We discuss the potential for improvements to both the energy threshold and effective volume of the experiment in the coming years.

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synopsis

New Device for Detecting Lightweight Dark Matter

Published 20 August, 2025

Superconducting sensors can detect single low-energy photons. Researchers have now used this capability in a dark matter experiment.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 081002– Published 20 August, 2025
  • Received 19 February 2025
  • Accepted 26 June 2025
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