Light dark matter search with a high-resolution athermal phonon detector operated above ground

Abstract

We present limits on spin-independent dark matter-nucleon interactions using a 10.6 g Si athermal phonon detector with a baseline energy resolution of σE = 3.86 +- 0.04 (stat)+0.19−0.00 (syst) eV. This exclusion analysis sets the most stringent dark matter-nucleon scattering cross-section limits achieved by a cryogenic detector for dark matter particle masses from 93 to 140 MeV / c2, with a raw exposure of 9.9 g d acquired at an above-ground facility. This work illustrates the scientific potential of detectors with athermal phonon sensors with eV-scale energy resolution for future dark matter searches