From dark matter to qubits: a meet CUTE of cosmic mysteries.

by Dr Vijay Iyer (Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo)

Thursday Sep 25, 2025, 9:30 AM → 10:30 AM Canada/Eastern

Surface Facility/1-121 - Fraser Duncan Auditorium (SNOLAB)

In this talk, I will take you through two areas of research at the forefront of physics: the hunt for dark matter and the development of quantum technologies. At the center of both efforts is SNOLAB’s Cryogenic Underground TEst facility (CUTE), a unique underground testbed for cryogenic detectors that supports both dark matter and quantum science programs.
On the dark matter side, I will focus on the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) experiment, now being installed at SNOLAB. SuperCDMS will search for low-mass dark matter using highly sensitive silicon and germanium detectors operated at cryogenic temperatures. In the realm of quantum science, I will highlight the QUTEbits project— a collaboration between SNOLAB, the University of Waterloo, and Chalmers University of Technology. This project explores how cosmic rays, and environmental radiation can disrupt the fragile quantum states of superconducting qubits. By operating qubits deep underground at CUTE, we aim to better understand and mitigate this source of decoherence.
I will also describe my contributions to these projects. Together, these efforts highlight the strong overlap between dark matter searches and quantum technologies— both rely on similar cryogenic hardware, low-background techniques, and specialized expertise in operating detectors at the edge of sensitivity.