Dark matter search with the HDMS-experiment and the GENIUS project

✍ Scribed by L. Baudis; J. Hellmig; H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus; Y. Ramachers; H. Strecker

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 534 KB
• Volume: 70
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0920-5632
• DOI: 10.1016/s0920-5632(98)00397-1

✦ Synopsis

We present a new Germanium Dark Matter Experiment. It consists of two HPGe-Detectors which are run in a unique configuration. The anticoincidence between the two detectors will further reduce the background that we achieve now in the Heidelberg-Moscow-Experiment and will allow to improve WIMP cross section limits to a level comparable to planned cryogenic experiments. This should also allow to test recently claimed positive evidence for dark matter by the DAMA experiment.

We show first detector performances from the test period in the Heidelberg Low Level Laboratory and give a preliminary estimation for the background reduction efficiency. The HDMS experiment in being built up now in the Gran Sass0 Underground Laboratory and will start taking data by the end of this year.

For a substantial improvement of the WIMP-nucleon cross section limits, future dark matter experiments will have to be either massive direction-sensitive detectors or massive ton-scale detectors with almost zero background. A proposal for a high mass (1 ton) Ge experiment with a much further reduced background is the Heidelberg GENIUS experiment. GENIUS will be able to give a WIMP limit of the order 0.02 counts/day/kg and additionally to look for the annual modulation WIMP-signature by using raw data without subtraction.