The SWEET project: probing sugar crystals for direct dark matter searches
A. Bento, F. Casadei, E. Cipelli, S. Di Lorenzo, F. Dominsky, P. V. Guillaumon, D. Hauff, A. Langenkaemper, M. Mancuso, B. Mauri, C. Moore, F. Petricca, F. Proebst, M. Zanirato
Published: 2025/9/29
Abstract
Several experiments searching for direct dark matter interactions aim to achieve unprecedented sensitivity to sub-GeV/c$^2$ dark matter masses through elastic scattering with nuclei in various target crystals at cryogenic temperatures. Hydrogen-rich materials, such as organic compounds, are promising candidates for the detection of sub-GeV/c$^2$ dark matter due to favourable kinematics. In this paper, we present for the first time results obtained with a sugar-based phonon detector employing sucrose crystals ($\mathbf{C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}}$), capable of particle detection with associated scintillation light.