Hundreds of Times Colder Than Outer Space: Scientists Reach Near-Absolute Zero in Dark Matter Hunt

SuperCDMS has reached its operating temperature a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero, allowing detectors to switch on.

The experiment is housed about 6,800 feet underground at SNOLAB near Sudbury, Ontario, to shield it from cosmic rays.

The University of Minnesota built a 4 m by 4 m low-background shield and developed analysis algorithms for rapid signal identification.

Detector commissioning will take several months and will include activation, calibration, and fine-tuning of channels.