Speaker
Description
Coherent elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering (CEνNS) provides a low-energy probe of physics beyond the Standard Model, but detecting the sub-keV nuclear recoils induced by reactor antineutrinos demands cryogenic detectors with excellent energy resolution and robust particle identification. The RICOCHET experiment, located 8.8 m from the core of the Institut Laue–Langevin research reactor in Grenoble, France, began its science phase in July 2025 with the CryoCube: an array of germanium crystals with simultaneous heat and ionization readout. This dual readout enables event-by-event discrimination between electronic and nuclear recoils, which is key to reaching the CEνNS signal region. We present the status of data taking, particle identification, and plans for upcoming runs.
We will also discuss the complementary Q-Array and the path beyond the current detector generation: smaller crystals and transition-edge sensors offer a route to sub-10 eV resolution, with microwave multiplexing enabling scalable arrays. We report results from an aluminum microwave SQUID multiplexer developed with Lincoln Laboratory, achieving 20–30 pA/√Hz TES current noise, with further reduction demonstrated using a traveling-wave parametric amplifier. Finally, we describe ongoing efforts to implement the multiplexed readout chain on the open-source QICK RFSoC platform.