RESULTS OF THE CRESST–II DARK MATTER SEARCH

CRESST (Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers) is a direct Dark Matter detection experiment located in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. In 2011, the CRESST–II Dark Matter search completed 730 kgd of data taking operating scintillating CaWO4 crystals at mK temperatures. The simultaneous detection of the deposited energy by the phonon signal and the scintillation light allows the discrimination of the interacting particles on an event-by-event basis. In the acceptance region of the detectors, 67 events where observed in total. A maximum-likelihood analysis shows that an additional signal on top of the known backgrounds of α–, β– ,γ–radiation and neutrons is required to explain the observed distribution both in energy and light–yield. The excess signal however is compatible with the signal expected from a WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particle) with a mass in the range of 10–30 GeV/c2.