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Models for light dark matter particles with masses below 1 GeV/c 2 are a natural and well-motivated alternative to so-far unobserved weakly interacting massive particles. Gram-scale cryogenic calorimeters provide the required detector performance to detect these particles and extend the direct dark matter search program of CRESST. A prototype 0.5 g sapphire detector developed for the ν -cleus experiment has achieved an energy threshold of E t h = ( 19.7 ± 0.9 )  eV. This is one order of magnitude lower than for previous devices and independent of the type of particle interaction. The result presented here is obtained in a setup above ground without significant shielding against ambient and cosmogenic radiation. Although operated in a high-background environment, the detector probes a new range of light-mass dark matter particles previously not accessible by direct searches. We report the first limit on the spin-independent dark matter particle-nucleon cross section for masses between 140 and 500 MeV/c 2 .

The CRESST-II experiment uses cryogenic detectors to search for nuclear recoil events induced by the elastic scattering of dark matter particles in CaWO 4  crystals. Given the low energy threshold of our detectors in combination with light target nuclei, low mass dark matter particles can be probed with high sensitivity. In this letter we present the results from data of a single detector module corresponding to 52 kg live days. A blind analysis is carried out. With an energy threshold for nuclear recoils of 307 eV we substantially enhance the sensitivity for light dark matter. Thereby, we extend the reach of direct dark matter experiments to the sub- GeV/ c 2  region and demonstrate that the energy threshold is the key parameter in the search for low mass dark matter particles.

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130 Te with an array of 988 TeO 2  bolometers operating at temperatures around 10 mK. The experiment is currently being commissioned in Hall A of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. The goal of CUORE is to reach a 90% C.L. exclusion sensitivity on the 130 Te decay half-life of 9 × 10 25 years after 5 years of data taking. The main issue to be addressed to accomplish this aim is the rate of background events in the region of interest, which must not be higher than 10 - 2  counts/keV/kg/year. We developed a detailed Monte Carlo simulation, based on results from a campaign of material screening, radioassays, and bolometric measurements, to evaluate the expected background. This was used over the years to guide the construction strategies of the experiment and we use it here to project a background model for CUORE. In this paper we report the results of our study and our expectations for the background rate in the energy region where the peak signature of neutrinoless double beta decay of 130 Te is expected.

The live attenuated mycobacterial strain BCG, in use as vaccine against tuberculosis, is considered the gold standard for primary therapy of carcinoma of the bladder. Despite its limitations, to date it has not been surpassed by any other treatment. Our group has developed a recombinant BCG strain expressing the detoxified S1 pertussis toxin (rBCG-S1PT) that proved more effective than wild type BCG (WT-BCG) in increasing survival time in an experimental mouse model of bladder cancer, due to the well-known adjuvant properties of pertussis toxin. Here, we investigated the capacity of rBCG-S1PT to stimulate human immune responses, in comparison to WT-BCG, using an stimulation assay based on human whole blood cells that allows for a comprehensive evaluation of leukocyte activation. Blood leukocytes stimulated with rBCG-S1PT produced increased levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 as compared to WT-BCG, but comparable levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. Stimulation of blood cells with the recombinant BCG strain also enhanced the expression of CD25 and CD69 on human CD4 T cells. PBMC stimulated with rBCG-S1PT induced higher cytotoxicity to MB49 bladder cancer cells than WT-BCG-stimulated PBMC. These results suggest that the rBCG-S1PT strain is able to activate an immune response in human leukocytes that is higher than that induced by WT-BCG for parameters linked to better prognosis in bladder cancer (regulation of immune and early inflammatory responses), while fully comparable to WT-BCG for classical inflammatory parameters. This establishes rBCG-S1PT as a new highly effective candidate as immunotherapeutic agent against bladder cancer.

CUORE is a tonne-scale cryogenic detector operating at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) that uses tellurium dioxide bolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 130 Te. CUORE is also suitable to search for low energy rare events such as solar axions or WIMP scattering, thanks to its ultra-low background and large target mass. However, to conduct such sensitive searches requires improving the energy threshold to 10 keV. In this paper, we describe the analysis techniques developed for the low energy analysis of CUORE-like detectors, using the data acquired from November 2013 to March 2015 by CUORE-0, a single-tower prototype designed to validate the assembly procedure and new cleaning techniques of CUORE. We explain the energy threshold optimization, continuous monitoring of the trigger efficiency, data and event selection, and energy calibration at low energies in detail. We also present the low energy background spectrum of CUORE-0 below 60 keV . Finally, we report the sensitivity of CUORE to WIMP annual modulation using the CUORE-0 energy threshold and background, as well as an estimate of the uncertainty on the nuclear quenching factor from nuclear recoils inCUORE-0.

Low radioactivity sites are mandatory to perform searches for rare processes that cannot be studied with particle accelerators and requires low environmental backgrounds. Neutrino-less double β decay or Dark Matter searches must be performed in underground low radioactivity observatories. Large detectors are needed to increase the acceptances and proper cryogenic systems to run dedicated detectors. To reach the working temperatures, refrigerators as Pulse Tubes, Dilution Units are used inside complex cryostats. CUORE, Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events, is an experiment located at LNGS under the Gran Sasso mountain. So far, it's the coldest cubic meter and the largest cold mass ever realized. Its 998 TeO2 bolometers need to be kept at temperatures T< 10 mK. Using only Pulse Tubes, CUORE needs several weeks to reach the baseline T. Then a Fast Cooling System has been designed and constructed for a faster precooling of the whole CUORE cold volume. The Fast Cooling System (FCS) consists of a cryostat with heat exchangers that use 3 Gifford-McMahon refrigerators, a 4He compressor, a filtering module and several sensors that allow to monitor and control the system during CUORE cooldown. The present work describes the FCS and summarizes its performances during the first full CUORE cooldown.

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a bolometric experiment for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 130 Te search, currently taking data at the underground facility of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The CUORE cryostat successfully cooled down a mass of about 1 ton at ∼ 7 mK , delivering a uniform and constant base temperature. This result marks a fundamental milestone in low-temperature detector techniques, opening the path for future ton-scale bolometric experiments searching for rare events. In this paper, we present the CUORE cryogenic infrastructure, briefly describing its critical subsystems.

The cryogenic underground observatory for rare events (CUORE) is a 1-ton scale bolometric experiment whose detector consists of an array of 988 TeO 2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. This will be the largest bolometric mass ever operated. The experiment will work at a temperature around or below 10 mK. CUORE cryostat consists of a cryogen-free system based on pulse tubes and a custom high power dilution refrigerator, designed to match these specifications. The cryostat has been commissioned in 2014 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories and reached a record temperature of 6 mK on a cubic meter scale. In this paper, we present results of CUORE commissioning runs. Details on the thermal characteristics and cryogenic performances of the system will be also given.

The next generation direct dark matter experiment CRESST-III has a high potential to significantly increase the sensitivity to low-mass WIMPs (mx ≲10GeV/c2). We present the new CRESST detector module: it consists of a 24 g CaWO4 crystal operated as a phonon detector and a 20×20 mm2 silicon-on-sapphire light detector. The phonon energy threshold is lowered to ~100eV and a light detector resolution of typically 5eV is achieved. A fully-scintillating inner detector housing is realised which efficiently rejects events from surface-alpha decays. The CaWO4 sticks holding the target crystal are also operated as calorimeters to discriminate all possible artefacts related to the support structure. A projection for the sensitivity to spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering is given for the first phase of CRESST-III which will start beginning of 2016.

CUORE is a cryogenic experiment searching primarily for neutrinoless double decay in 130Te. It will begin data-taking operations in 2016. To monitor the cryostat and detector during commissioning and data taking, we have designed and developed Slow Monitoring systems. In addition to real-time systems using LabVIEW, we have an alarm, analysis, and archiving website that uses MongoDB, AngularJS, and Bootstrap software. These modern, state of the art software packages make the monitoring system transparent, easily maintainable, and accessible on many platforms including mobile devices.