The recent laser excitation of the low-lying Th-229 isomer transition is starting a revolution in ultralight dark matter searches. The enhanced sensitivity of this transition to the large class of dark matter models dominantly coupling to quarks and gluons will ultimately allow us to probe coupling strengths eight orders of magnitude smaller than the current bounds from optical atomic clocks,...
We explore the interplay between dark matter scattering and solar dark photon absorption in two dark matter models with light dark photon mediators. Sub-keV dark photons, abundantly produced in the solar core, provide complementary detection channels to scattering of dark matter from the halo. Incorporating astrophysical and cosmological constraints—including dark matter self-interactions and...
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have rapidly evolved into powerful tools for applications spanning quantum computing to precision photodetection. In this work, we extend their impact into astroparticle physics by demonstrating their capability to detect sub-MeV Dark Matter. Utilizing an SNSPD fabricated from Niobium Nitride (NbN), we achieve a remarkably low energy...
