Dark Matter Direct Detection With Low Temperature Detectors

Abstract

Low Temperature Detectors (LTDs) offer the best signal-to-noise performance and thus, lowest energy threshold among other particle detection technologies available today. The excellent background rejection provided by these detectors is essential to search for very rare and very low energy recoils expected from dark matter interactions. Furthermore, due to their very good event-by-event background rejection capabilities, LTDs do not heavily rely on self-shielding in order to mitigate radioactive backgrounds (in contrast with the monolithic liquid Noble Gas detectors) thus they can be more easily prototyped and tested for basic detector performance. A review of the status and prospects of the major Dark Matter search experiments using LTD technologies is presented here.