EDELWEISS-II Dark Matter Search : status and first results
  The EDELWEISS II experiment is devoted to the search for Weakly Interacting
Massive Particles (WIMP) that would constitute the Dark Matter halo of our
Galaxy. For this purpose, the experiment uses cryogenic germanium detectors,
cooled down at 20 mK, in which the collision of a WIMP with an atomic nucleus
produces characteristic signals in terms of ionization and elevation of
temperature. We will present the preliminary results of the first operation of
the detectors installed in the underground laboratory of the Frejus Tunnel
(LSM), attesting to the very low radioactive background conditions achieved so
far. New detectors, with a special electrode design for active rejection of
surface events, have been shown to be suited for searches of WIMPs with
scattering cross-sections on nucleon well below 10-8 pb. Preliminary results of
WIMP search performed with a first set of these detectors are presented.
