Superconducting detectors for rare event searches in experimental astroparticle physics

Abstract

Superconducting detectors have become an important tool in experimental astroparticle physics, which seeks to provide a fundamental understanding of the Universe. In particular, such detectors have demonstrated excellent potential in two challenging research areas involving rare event search experiments, namely, the direct detection of dark matter and the search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Here, we review the superconducting detectors that have been and are planned to be used in these two categories of experiments. We first provide brief histories of the two research areas and outline their significance and challenges in astroparticle physics. Then, we present an extensive overview of various types of superconducting detectors with a focus on sensor technologies and detector physics, which are based on calorimetric measurements and heat flow in the detector components. Finally, we introduce leading experiments and discuss their future prospects for the detection of dark matter and the search for neutrinoless double beta decay employing superconducting detectors.

An MMC-Based Temperature Control System for a Long-Term Data Collection

“…The role of low temperature detectors (LTDs) has become critical in many applications of modern particle physics that require an extremely good energy resolution [1][2][3][4][5]. These high-resolution detectors are based on the detection principle of a complete thermal calorimeter in which the energy input is fully converted to the thermal energy of the detector.…”

“…By the means of measuring the temperature increase in the detector system with a sensitive temperature sensor, the energy input can be determined at high resolution. LTD sensor technologies such as semiconductor thermistors, transition edge sensors (TESs), and magnetic microcalorimeters (MMCs), make it possible to realize such sensitive thermal calorimetric detection [5][6][7]. Thermistors are heavily doped semiconductors of ionimplemented Si devices or neutron transmuted-doped (NTD) Ge sensors [8].…”