Dark matter effective field theory scattering in direct detection experiments
K. Schneck, B. Cabrera, D. G. Cerdeno, V. Mandic, H. E. Rogers, R. Agnese, A. J. Anderson, M. Asai, D. Balakishiyeva, D. Barker, R. Basu Thakur, D. A. Bauer, J.… 展开作者
K. Schneck, B. Cabrera, D. G. Cerdeno, V. Mandic, H. E. Rogers, R. Agnese, A. J. Anderson, M. Asai, D. Balakishiyeva, D. Barker, R. Basu Thakur, D. A. Bauer, J. Billard, A. Borgland, D. Brandt, P. L. Brink, R. Bunker, D. O. Caldwell, R. Calkins, H. Chagani, Y. Chen, J. Cooley, B. Cornell, C. H. Crewdson, P. Cushman, M. Daal, P. C. F. Di Stefano, T. Doughty, L. Esteban, S. Fallows, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, G. L. Godfrey, S. R. Golwala, J. Hall, H. R. Harris, T. Hofer, D. Holmgren, L. Hsu, M. E. Huber, D. M. Jardin, A. Jastram, O. Kamaev, B. Kara, M. H. Kelsey, A. Kennedy, A. Leder, B. Loer, E. Lopez Asamar, P. Lukens, R. Mahapatra, K. A. McCarthy, N. Mirabolfathi, R. A. Moffatt, J. D. Morales Mendoza, S. M. Oser, K. Page, W. A. Page, R. Partridge, M. Pepin, A. Phipps, K. Prasad, M. Pyle, H. Qiu, W. Rau, P. Redl, A. Reisetter, Y. Ricci, A. Roberts, T. Saab, B. Sadoulet, J. Sander, R. W. Schnee, S. Scorza, B. Serfass, B. Shank, D. Speller, D. Toback, S. Upadhyayula, A. N. Villano, B. Welliver, J. S. Wilson, D. H. Wright, X. Yang, S. Yellin, J. J. Yen, B. A. Young, J. Zhang
We examine the consequences of the effective field theory (EFT) of dark matter-nucleon scattering for current and proposed direct detection experiments. Exclusion limits on EFT coupling constants computed using the optimum interval method are presented for SuperCDMS Soudan, CDMS II, and LUX, and the necessity of combining results from multiple experiments in order to determine dark matter parameters is discussed. We demonstrate that spectral differences between the standard dark matter model and a general EFT interaction can produce a bias when calculating exclusion limits and when developing signal models for likelihood and machine learning techniques. We also discuss the implications of the EFT for the next-generation (G2) direct detection experiments and point out regions of complementarity in the EFT parameter space.
The rate of dark matter-electron scattering depends on the underlying velocity distribution of the dark matter halo. Importantly, dark matter-electron scattering is particularly sensitive to the high-velocity tail, which differs significantly amongst the various dark matter halo models. In this work, we summarize the leading halo models and discuss the various parameters which enter them. We recommend updated values for these parameters based on recent studies and measurements. Furthermore, we quantify the dependence of the dark matter-electron scattering rate on the choice of halo model and p…
Scattering of non-relativistic finite-size particles and puffy dark matter direct detection
School of Electronic Engineering, Chengdu Technological University（成都工业学院电子工程学院）；Center for Theoretical Physics, Henan Normal University（河南师范大学理论物理中心）；Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院理论物理研究所）；School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University（河南大学物理与电子学院）
One of the next frontiers in dark-matter direct-detection experiments is to explore the MeV to GeV mass regime. Such light dark matter does not carry enough kinetic energy to produce an observable nuclear recoil, but it can scatter off electrons, leading to a measurable signal. We introduce a semi-analytic approach to characterize the resulting electron-scattering events in atomic and semiconductor targets, improving on previous analytic proposals that underestimate the signal at high recoil energies. We then use this procedure to study the time-dependent properties of the electron-scattering …
Detection of electron recoils by dark matter (DM) may reveal the structure of the dark sector. We consider a scenario where a heavier DM particle inelastically scatters off an electron and is converted into a lighter DM particle. A small mass difference between the two DM particles is transferred into electron recoil energy. We investigate the DM-electron interaction mediated by a massive dark photon and evaluate the inelastic DM scattering rate, taking account of the atomic structure. It is found that the scattering rate is significantly enhanced because of the small mass splitting, which all…
We demonstrate how the two dominant constituents of the Universe, dark energy and dark matter, could possess a large scattering cross-section without considerably impacting observations. Unlike models involving energy exchange between the two fluids, the background cosmology remains unaltered, leaving fewer observational signatures. Following a brief review of the scattering cross-sections between cosmologically significant particles, we explore the implications of an elastic interaction between dark matter and dark energy. The growth of large scale structure is suppressed, yet this effect is …
We present a first calculation of the rate for plasmon production in semiconductors from nuclei recoiling against dark matter. The process is analogous to bremsstrahlung of transverse photon modes, but with a longitudinal plasmon mode emitted instead. For dark matter in the 10 MeV - 1 GeV mass range, we find that the plasmon bremsstrahlung rate is 4-5 orders of magnitude smaller than that for elastic scattering, but 4-5 orders of magnitude larger than the transverse bremsstrahlung rate. Because the plasmon can decay into electronic excitations and has characteristic energy given by the plasma …
We consider the production of a new MeV-scale fermion in coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. The effect on the measurable nucleon recoil spectrum is calculated. Assuming that the new fermion couples to neutrinos and quarks via a singlet scalar, we set limits on its mass and coupling using COHERENT data and also determine the sensitivity of the CONUS experiment. We investigate the possible connection of the new fermion to neutrino mass generation. The possibility of the new fermion being the dark matter particle is also studied.
A well-studied possibility is that dark matter may reside in a sector secluded from the Standard Model, except for the so-called photon portal: kinetic mixing between the ordinary and dark photons. Such interactions can be probed at dark matter direct detection experiments, and new experimental techniques involving detection of dark matter-electron scattering offer new sensitivity to sub-GeV dark matter. Typically however it is implicitly assumed that the dark matter is not altered as it traverses the Earth to arrive at the detector. In this paper we study in detail the effects of terrestrial …
Dark matter (DM) particles with mass in the sub-GeV range are an attractive alternative to heavier weakly-interacting massive particles, but direct detection of such light particles is challenging. If however DM-nucleus scattering leads to ionisation of the recoiling atom, the resulting electron may be detected even if the nuclear recoil is unobservable. We demonstrate that including this effect significantly enhances direct detection sensitivity to sub-GeV DM. Existing experiments set world-leading limits, and future experiments may probe the cross sections relevant for thermal freeze-out.
We study dark matter-helium scattering in the early Universe and its impact on constraints from cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy measurements. We describe possible theoretical frameworks for dark matter-nucleon interactions via a scalar, pseudoscalar, or vector mediator; such interactions give rise to hydrogen and helium scattering, with cross sections that have a power-law dependence on relative velocity. Within these frameworks, we consider three scenarios: dark matter coupling to only neutrons, to only protons, and to neutrons and protons with equal strength. For these various c…
Sub-GeV mass dark matter particles whose collisions with nuclei would not deposit sufficient energy to be detected, could instead be revealed through their interaction with electrons. Analyses of data from direct detection experiments usually require assuming a local dark matter halo velocity distribution. In the halo-independent analysis method, properties of this distribution are instead inferred from direct dark matter detection data, which allows then to compare different data without making any assumption on the uncertain local dark halo. This method has so far been developed for and appl…
Dark photon not only provides a portal linking dark sector particles and ordinary matter but also is a well-motivated dark matter candidate. We propose to detect the dark photon dark matter through the inverse Compton-like scattering process $p+γ^\prime \to p+γ$. Thanks to the ultra-high energy primary cosmic rays, we find that such a method is able to probe the dark photon mass from $10^{-2}$ eV down to $10^{-19}$ eV with the expected sensitivity of eROSITA $X$-ray telescope, which can extend the current lower limit of dark photon mass from Jupiter's magnetic fields experiment by about three …
Multi-level dark matter with diagonal and off-diagonal interactions shows a rich phenomenology in its self-scattering. If the interactions are mediated by a particle that is less massive than the dark matter, Sommerfeld effect can lead to resonant enhancement of the scattering. For mediators lighter than the level separation, dark matter particles can upscatter to excited states and de-excite by emitting these mediators. We compute these cross-sections, both above and below the kinematic threshold, in a generic two-component dark matter model and identify the large inelastic cross-section as a…
The simplest Higgs-portal dark matter model is studied in the light of dark matter self-interacting effects on the formation of large scale structures. We show the direct detection limits on the resonant and large mass regions. Finally, we also compare these limits with those at the LHC and Xenon 1T experiments.
We present new observational constraints on the elastic scattering of dark matter with electrons for dark matter masses between 10 keV and 1 TeV. We consider scenarios in which the momentum-transfer cross section has a power-law dependence on the relative particle velocity, with a power-law index $n \in \{-4,-2,0,2,4,6\}$. We search for evidence of dark matter scattering through its suppression of structure formation. Measurements of the cosmic microwave background temperature, polarization, and lensing anisotropy from \textit{Planck} 2018 data and of the Milky Way satellite abundance measurem…
Direct detection experiments aim at the detection of dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) by searching for signals from elastic dark matter nucleus scattering. Additionally, inelastic scattering in which the nucleus is excited is expected from nuclear physics and provides an additional detectable signal. In the context of a low-energy effective field theory we investigate the experimental reach to these inelastic transitions for xenon-based detectors employing a dual-phase time projection chamber. We find that once a dark matter signal is established, inelast…
We study the mutual relationship between dark matter-electron scattering experiments and possible new dark matter substructure nearby hinted by the Gaia data. We show how kinematic substructure could affect the average and modulation spectra of dark matter-electron scattering in semiconductors, and the discovery reaches of future experiments with these targets. Conversely, we demonstrate how future data could probe and constrain the substructure dark matter fraction, even when it constitutes a sub-dominant component of the local dark matter density.
Elastic self-scatterings do not change the number of dark matter particles and as such have been neglected in the calculation of its relic abundance. In this work we highlight the scenarios where the presence of self-scatterings has a significant impact on the effectiveness of annihilation processes through the modification of dark matter momentum distribution. We study a few example freeze-out scenarios involving resonant and sub-threshold annihilations, as well as a model with an additional source of dark matter particles from the decays of a heavier mediator state. Interestingly, when the c…
We derive constraints on elastic scattering between baryons and dark matter using the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data from the Planck satellite and the Lyman-alpha forest data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Elastic scattering allows baryons and dark matter to exchange momentum, affecting the dynamics of linear density perturbations in the early Universe. We derive constraints to scattering cross sections of the form sigma \propto v^n, allowing for a wide range of velocity dependencies with n between -4 and 2. We improve and correct previous estimates where they exist, including velo…
We provide a compendium of results at the level of matrix elements for a systematic study of dark matter scattering and annihilation. We identify interactions that yield spin-dependent and spin-independent scattering and specify whether the interactions are velocity- and/or momentum-suppressed. We identify the interactions that lead to s-wave or p-wave annihilation, and those that are chirality-suppressed. We also list the interaction structures that can interfere in scattering and annihilation processes. Using these results, we point out situations in which deviations from the standard lore a…
Conventional dark matter direct detection experiments set stringent constraints on dark matter by looking for elastic scattering events between dark matter particles and nuclei in underground detectors. However these constraints weaken significantly in the sub-GeV mass region, simply because light dark matter does not have enough energy to trigger detectors regardless of the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross section. Even if future experiments lower their energy thresholds, they will still be blind to parameter space where dark matter particles interact with nuclei strongly enough that they…
We study the interaction between dark sectors by considering the momentum transfer caused by the dark matter scattering elastically within the dark energy fluid. Describing the dark scattering analogy to the Thomson scattering which couples baryons and photons, we examine the impact of the dark scattering in CMB observations. Performing global fitting with the latest observational data, we find that for a dark energy equation of state $w<-1$, the CMB gives tight constraints on dark matter-dark energy elastic scattering. Assuming a dark matter particle of proton mass, we derive an elastic scatt…
A bevy of light dark matter direct detection experiments have been proposed, targeting spin-independent dark matter scattering. In order to be exhaustive, non-standard signatures that have been investigated in the WIMP window including spin-dependent dark matter scattering also need to be looked into in the light dark matter parameter space. In this work, we promote this endeavor by deriving indirect limits on sub-GeV spin-dependent dark matter through terrestrial and astrophysical limits on the forces that mediate this scattering.
We explore ways of creating cold keV-scale dark matter by means of decays and scatterings. The main observation is that certain thermal freeze-in processes can lead to a cold dark matter distribution in regions with small available phase space. In this way the free-streaming length of keV particles can be suppressed without decoupling them too much from the Standard Model. In all cases, dark matter needs to be produced together with a heavy particle that carries away most of the initial momentum. For decays, this simply requires an off-diagonal DM coupling to two heavy particles; for scatterin…
There has been renewed interest in the possibility that dark matter exists in the form of atoms, analogous to those of the visible world. An important input for understanding the cosmological consequences of dark atoms is their self-scattering. Making use of results from atomic physics for the potentials between hydrogen atoms, we compute the low-energy elastic scattering cross sections for dark atoms. We find an intricate dependence upon the ratio of the dark proton to electron mass, allowing for the possibility to "design" low-energy features in the cross section. Dependences upon other para…
We present the first cosmological constraint on dark matter scattering with protons in the early Universe for the entire range of dark matter masses between 1 keV and 1 TeV. This constraint is derived from the Planck measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropy, and the CMB lensing anisotropy. It improves upon previous CMB constraints by many orders of magnitude, where limits are available, and closes the gap in coverage for low-mass dark matter candidates. We focus on two canonical interaction scenarios: spin-independent and spin-dependent scat…
We use the latest measurements of the Milky Way satellite population from the Dark Energy Survey and Pan-STARRS1 to infer the most stringent astrophysical bound to date on velocity-dependent interactions between dark matter particles and protons. We model the momentum-transfer cross section as a power law of the relative particle velocity $v$ with a free normalizing amplitude, $σ_\text{MT}=σ_0 v^n$, to broadly capture the interactions arising within the non-relativistic effective theory of dark matter-proton scattering. The scattering leads to a momentum and heat transfer between the baryon an…
Inelastic dark matter reconciles the DAMA anomaly with other null direct detection experiments and points to a non-minimal structure in the dark matter sector. In addition to the dominant inelastic interaction, dark matter scattering may have a subdominant elastic component. If these elastic interactions are suppressed at low momentum transfer, they will have similar nuclear recoil spectra to inelastic scattering events. While upcoming direct detection experiments will see strong signals from such models, they may not be able to unambiguously determine the presence of the subdominant elastic s…
In many cosmologies dark matter clusters on sub-kiloparsec scales and forms compact subhalos, in which the majority of Galactic dark matter could reside. Null results in direct detection experiments since their advent four decades ago could then be the result of extremely rare encounters between the Earth and these subhalos. We investigate alternative and promising means to identify subhalo dark matter interacting with Standard Model particles: (1) subhalo collisions with old neutron stars can transfer kinetic energy and brighten the latter to luminosities within the reach of imminent infrared…
Direct dark matter detection focuses on elastic scattering of dark matter particles off nuclei. In this study, we explore inelastic scattering where the nucleus is excited to a low-lying state of 10-100 keV, with subsequent prompt de-excitation. We calculate the inelastic structure factors for the odd-mass xenon isotopes based on state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model calculations with chiral effective field theory WIMP-nucleon currents. For these cases, we find that the inelastic channel is comparable to or can dominate the elastic channel for momentum transfers around 150 MeV. We calculate…
A recent study shows that gravitational scattering of dark matter, in the form of massive objects with mass $m \sim 10^3-10^4M_{\odot}$, could provide a possible solution to alleviate the small-scale structure problems of cold dark matter. The scattering cross section is velocity-dependent so that this scenario can explain why self-interaction of dark matter is significant in dwarf galaxies, but not in massive galaxies and galaxy clusters. In this Letter, we show that this kind of dark massive objects could be made of sterile neutrinos with a possible rest mass range $m_ν \sim 7.6$ keV $-$ 71 …
We present halo-independent methods to analyze the results of dark matter direct detection experiments assuming inelastic scattering. We focus on the annual modulation signal reported by DAMA/LIBRA and present three different halo-independent tests. First, we compare it to the upper limit on the unmodulated rate from XENON100 using (a) the trivial requirement that the amplitude of the annual modulation has to be smaller than the bound on the unmodulated rate, and (b) a bound on the annual modulation amplitude based on an expansion in the Earth's velocity. The third test uses the special predic…
The cosmology of a standard model (SM) gauge singlet complex scalar dark matter (DM), stabilized by a reflection symmetry, is studied including all renormalizable interactions that preserve the reflection symmetry but can break the larger global U(1) symmetry of DM number. We find an interesting interplay of the ensuing DM self-scatterings and annihilations in generating the present DM density, and possible particle-antiparticle asymmetry in the DM sector. The role of DM self-scatterings in determining its present density and composition is a novel phenomenon. The simultaneous presence of the …
If DM-matter scatterings are assumed to occur in a detector's target material, collisions will naturally take place inside the bulk of planets and stars as well. For large cross sections, these scatterings might occur in the Earth or Sun even prior to the detection. In this thesis, we study the impact of these pre-detection scatterings on direct searches of light DM with the use of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. By simulating the trajectories and scatterings of many individual DM particles in the Earth or Sun, we determine the local distortions of the statistical properties of DM at any detecto…
CMB constraints on dark matter-proton scattering: investigating prior-volume effects using profile likelihoods
The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校）；University of Chicago（芝加哥大学）；Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA), CSIC-Univ. de Cantabria（坎塔布里亚物理研究所（IFCA），西班牙国家研究委员会-坎塔布里亚大学）
The scattering of neutrinos off dark matter can induce time delays in their propagation compared to that of photons, which would wash out correlations between ultra-high-energy neutrinos and electromagnetic observations of their sources - while preserving the observed diffuse neutrino flux. This may explain the significant discrepancy between predictions of neutrino fluxes from gamma ray bursts and the lack of neutrinos correlated with EM observations of GRBs. Conversely, the detection of an UHE neutrino in association with a source provides a strong constraint on such interactions. We conside…
We derive new limits on the elastic scattering cross-section between baryons and dark matter using Cosmic Microwave Background data from the Planck satellite and measurements of the Lyman-alpha forest flux power spectrum from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Our analysis addresses generic cross sections of the form $σ\propto v^n$, where v is the dark matter-baryon relative velocity, allowing for constraints on the cross section independent of specific particle physics models. We include high-$\ell$ polarization data from Planck in our analysis, improving over previous constraints. We apply a more…
In this letter, we report precise and robust observational constraints on dark matter-dark energy scattering cross section, using the latest data from cosmic microwave background (CMB) Planck temperature and polarization, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) measurements and weak gravitational lensing data from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS). The scattering scenario consists of a pure momentum exchange between the dark components, and we find $σ_d < 10^{-29} \, {\rm cm^2}$ at 95\% CL from the joint analysis (CMB + BAO + CFHTLenS), for typical dark matter particle mass o…
We study gravothermal evolution of dark matter halos in the presence of differential self-scattering that has strong velocity and angular dependencies. We design controlled N-body simulations to model Rutherford and Moller scatterings in the halo, and follow its evolution in both core-expansion and -collapse phases. The simulations show the commonly-used transfer cross section underestimates the effects of dark matter self-interactions, but the viscosity cross section provides an accurate approximation for modeling angular-dependent dark matter scattering. We investigate thermodynamic properti…
Light dark sectors in thermal contact with the Standard Model naturally produce the observed relic dark matter abundance and are the targets of a broad experimental search program. A key light dark sector model is the pseudo-Dirac fermion with a dark photon mediator. The dynamics of the fermionic excited states are often neglected. We consider scenarios in which a nontrivial abundance of excited states is produced and their subsequent de-excitation yields interesting electromagnetic signals in direct detection experiments. We study three mechanisms of populating the excited state: a primordial…
We study the effects on the spectrum and distribution of high-energy neutrinos due to scattering with dark matter both outside and within our galaxy, focusing on the neutrinos observed by the IceCube experiment with energies up to several PeV. If these neutrinos originate from extra-galactic astrophysical sources, then scattering in transit with dark matter particles will delay their arrival to Earth. This results in a cut-off in their spectrum at an energy set by the scattering cross section, allowing us to place an upper limit on cross sections $σ$ which increase with energy E at the level o…
We calculate for the first time the scattering cross section between lightest glueballs in $SU(2)$ pure Yang-Mills theory, which are good candidates of dark matter. In the first step, we evaluate the interglueball potential on lattice using the HAL QCD method, with several lattice spacings ($β= 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4$, and 2.5). The systematics associated with nonzero angular momentum effect is removed by subtracting the centrifugal force. The statistical accuracy is improved by employing the cluster-decomposition error reduction technique and by using all space-time symmetries. We then determine …
In the E6 inspired $U(1)_N$ extension of the minimal supersymmetric (SUSY) standard model (MSSM) a single discrete $\tilde{Z}^{H}_2$ symmetry permits suppressing rapid proton decay and non-diagonal flavour transitions. If matter parity and $\tilde{Z}^{H}_2$ symmetry are preserved this SUSY model (SE4-6$SSM) may involve two dark matter candidates. In this article we study a new modification of the SE6SSM in which the cold dark matter is composed of gravitino and the lightest neutral exotic fermion. We argue that in this case the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross section can be considerably s…
The thermal evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM) can serve as a sensitive probe of cosmological heat sources and sinks. We employ it to limit interactions between dark matter and baryons. After reionization the IGM temperature is set by the balance between photoheating and adiabatic cooling. We use measurements of the IGM temperature from Lyman-$α$-forest data to constrain the cross-section $σ$ between dark matter and baryons, finding $σ< 10^{-20}$ cm$^2$ for dark-matter masses $m_χ\leq 1$ GeV. This provides the first direct constraint on scattering between dark matter and baryons at re…
Self-interacting dark matter scenarios have recently attracted much attention, as a possible means to alleviate the tension between N-body simulations and observations of the dark matter distribution on galactic and sub-galactic scales. The presence of internal structure for the dark matter --- for example, a nearly-degenerate state in the spectrum that could decay, or be collisionally excited or de-excited --- has also been proposed as a possible means to address these discrepancies. Such internal structure can be a source of interesting signatures in direct and indirect dark matter searches,…
We consider the recently proposed possibility that dark energy (DE) and baryons may scatter through a pure momentum exchange process, leaving the background evolution unaffected. Earlier work has shown that, even for barn-scale cross-sections, the imprints of this scattering process on linear cosmological observables is too tiny to be observed. We therefore turn our attention to non-linear scales, and for the first time investigate the signatures of DE-baryon scattering on the non-linear formation of cosmic structures, by running a suite of large N-body simulations. The observables we extract …
