Speaker
Description
The QUAntum LImited PHotons In the Dark Experiment (QUALIPHIDE) is a cryogenic broadband search for light dark matter candidates, primarily looking for signatures of massive hidden photons kinetically mixing with Standard Model photons. We report results from an experimental campaign coupling a focusing metallic dish to a pixelated array of energy-resolving $\sim$3 to $\sim$120THz sensitive photon counting microwave kinetic inductance detectors. Using data from 20-hour exposure, we set world leading constraint of the kinetic mixing parameter $\chi$ below the 10$^{-11}$ level for the majority of hidden photon masses between 13 and 100 meV. Simultaneously, we also report on a search for nuclear and electronic scattering events originating from dark matter capable of exciting single phonons within the small volume superconducting sensors, yielding the first ever terrestrial constraints on the cross-sections of certain light (10 to 1000 keV) dark matter species. We will also discuss the potential connection between our measured background and Low-Energy Excess in quantum sensors.
