Searching for Electron-Interacting Dark Matter with the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search

Abstract

Abundant and diverse evidence suggests that around 85% of the matter in the Universe is non-luminous and non-baryonic. While this `dark matter' interacts gravitationally with Standard Model matter, its nature and non-gravitational interactions are not yet understood. The SuperCDMS experiment uses cryogenic semiconductor detectors to search for interactions of dark matter with Standard Model matter. The next generation is currently under construction at SNOLAB, with plans to begin commissioning in 2024. Before their operation in the main experiment, the SuperCDMS SNOLAB detectors will be tested at the Cryogenic Underground TEst (CUTE) facility, a low background environment at SNOLAB constructed for this purpose. This thesis describes a dark matter search using data from SuperCDMS Soudan, in which constraints on dark photons and axion-like particles with masses as low as 40eV/c^2 are presented. Also described are the projected sensitivities of SuperCDMS SNOLAB and upgrades to the facility for several electron-interacting dark matter candidates. Finally, a characterization study of an R&D detector at the CUTE facility is presented.