4-8 November 2024
Mexico/General timezone
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Contribution

OSCURA: a 10-kg skipper-CCD detector to search for dark matter

Speakers

  • Ms. Brenda Aurea CERVANTES VERGARA
  • Dr. Brenda CERVANTES

Summary

Skipper-CCDs are pixelated semiconductor sensors that allow the detection of ionization events with extremely high precision, even down to the level of single electrons. This capability makes them a promising technology in many research areas requiring sensitivity to faint signals. In the search for dark matter (DM), skipper-CCD experiments have set world-leading limits on sub-GeV DM-electron interactions using gram-size detectors, thanks to the very low background rates achieved. These successes have motivated the development of kg-size detectors, aiming for even lower background rates. Oscura is the most ambitious of these efforts, featuring a 33-GPix camera that will provide unprecedented sensitivity to key dark matter models. In this talk, I will discuss the huge progress made toward building Oscura’s 24,000 skipper-CCD array, its current status, and future plans.