The search for dark matter with the coldest detectors in our universe

Since the early 1930s, gravitational observations have indicated the existence of some additional, weakly interacting (if it interacts at all) mass in our universe. Physicists refer to this as “Dark Matter” and it is expected to make up 27% of the mass-energy density of the universe. Experimentally, it has never been directly detected, and the hunt has captivated the physics community for decades. Although current searches span orders of magnitudes in mass and hundreds of experimental techniques, some of the most exciting (and coolest) searches utilize low-temperature cryogenic detectors. With a long and illustrious history, cryogenic detectors push the boundaries of the current technological limits and are found in some of the most extreme locations on Earth. This presentation will share the history of these detectors and show how they help solve one of the most compelling mysteries of the modern era. It will detail some of their unique applications and present a look at future cutting-edge experiments that utilize the advantages of these detectors to uncover the mysteries of dark matter.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Matt completed his undergraduate degree at Carleton University in applied physics. He then worked at TRIUMF as a radiation-effects modelling research assistant. After about a year, he decided to pursue a degree in higher learning and completed his graduate studies (MS.c and Ph.D.) at Queen’s University. During his doctorate, Matt worked on the KDK (Potassium Decay) project which performed the first measurement of a rare electron capture decay of 40K. He then served as a post-doc at the Gran Sasso Science Institute, where he participated in the COSINUS. The goal of the experiment is to confirm or refute the longstanding DAMA/LIBRA dark matter claim. Currently, Matt is a research scientist at SNOLAB where he primarily works on the SuperCDMS experiment in their hunt for dark matter. Matt enjoys skiing and is a big fan of Formula 1.