Quantum sensors for rare-event searches: the eyes do more than see

by Prof. Peter Sorensen (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Tuesday Mar 24, 2026, 3:00 PM → 4:00 PM Pacific/Honolulu

Room 112 (Watanabe Hall)

I will discuss recent results from PandaX, XENONnT and LZ, with an emphasis on the effect of instrumental backgrounds on the recent physics searches. I will then discuss recent results from the TESSERACT Collaboration, again emphasizing the effect of instrumental backgrounds and the so-called low-energy excess (LEE). I will briefly summarize the broad program at UCB/LBL to address the LEE in TESSERACT sensors. I will attempt to ensure the technical details are accessible to theorists whose main interest is in parsing recent experimental results. Time permitting, I will conclude with a brief peek at the nascent QuIPS experiment.

2026-03-24-UHM - Sorensen.pdf

video - Prof. P. Sorensen