The status of the EDELWEISS experiment (underground dark matter search with
heat-ionisation bolometers) is reviewed. Auspicious results achieved with a
prototype 70 g Ge heat-ionisation detector under a 2 V reverse bias tension are
discussed. Based on gamma and neutron calibrations, a best-case rejection
factor, over the 15-45 keV range, of 99.7 % for gammas, with an acceptance of
94 % for neutrons, is presented first. Some operational results of physical
interest obtained under poor low radioactivity conditions follow. They include
a raw event rate of around 30 events/day/kg/keV over the same energy range,
and, after rejection of part of the background, lead to a conservative upper
limit on the signal of approximately 1.6 events/day/kg/keV at a 90 % confidence
level. Performance degrading surface effects of the detector are speculated
upon; and planned upgrades are summarized.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures, LaTeX requires espcrc2.sty; Proceedings of
TAUP97, Gran Sasso, Italy, September 7-11, 199
