First results of the EDELWEISS-II WIMP search using Ge cryogenic
  detectors with interleaved electrodes
  The EDELWEISS-II collaboration has performed a direct search for WIMP dark
matter with an array of ten 400 g heat-and-ionization cryogenic detectors
equipped with interleaved electrodes for the rejection of near-surface events.
Six months of continuous operation at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane have
been achieved. The observation of one nuclear recoil candidate above 20 keV in
an effective exposure of 144 kgd is interpreted in terms of limits on the
cross-section of spin-independent interactions of WIMPs and nucleons. A
cross-section of 1.0x10^-7 pb is excluded at 90%CL for a WIMP mass of 80
GeV/c2. This result demonstrates for the first time the very high background
rejection capabilities of these simple and robust detectors in an actual WIMP
search experiment.
