skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Searches for light dark matter using condensed matter systems
Abstract Identifying the nature of dark matter (DM) has long been a pressing question for particle physics. In the face of ever-more-powerful exclusions and null results from large-exposure searches for TeV-scale DM interacting with nuclei, a significant amount of attention has shifted to lighter (sub-GeV) DM candidates. Direct detection of the light DM in our galaxy by observing DM scattering off a target system requires new approaches compared to prior searches. Lighter DM particles have less available kinetic energy, and achieving a kinematic match between DM and the target mandates the proper treatment of collective excitations in condensed matter systems, such as charged quasiparticles or phonons. In this context, the condensed matter physics of the target material is crucial, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach. In this review, we provide a self-contained introduction to direct detection of keV–GeV DM with condensed matter systems. We give a brief survey of DM models and basics of condensed matter, while the bulk of the review deals with the theoretical treatment of DM-nucleon and DM-electron interactions. We also review recent experimental developments in detector technology, and conclude with an outlook for the field of sub-GeV DM detection over the next decade.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2020275
PAR ID:
10331368
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Reports on Progress in Physics
Volume:
85
Issue:
6
ISSN:
0034-4885
Page Range / eLocation ID:
066901
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; (, Physical Review Letters)
    We present a new technique for sub-GeV dark matter (DM) searches and a new use of neutrino observatories. DM-electron scattering in an observatory can excite or ionize target molecules, which then produce light that can be detected by the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). While individual DM scatterings are indistinguishable, the aggregate rate from many independent scatterings can be isolated from the total PMT dark rate using the expected DM annual modulation. We showcase this technique with the example of JUNO, a 20 000-ton scintillator detector, showing that its potential sensitivity in some mass ranges exceeds other techniques and reaches key particle-theory benchmarks. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; (, Journal of High Energy Physics)
    A<sc>bstract</sc> Direct detection is a powerful means of searching for particle physics evidence of dark matter (DM) heavier than about a GeV with 𝒪(kiloton) volume, low-threshold detectors. In many scenarios, some fraction of the DM may be boosted to large velocities enhancing and generally modifying possible detection signatures. We investigate the scenario where 100% of the DM is boosted at the Earth due to new attractive long-range forces. This leads to two main improvements in detection capabilities: (1) the large boost allows for detectable signatures of DM well below a GeV at large-volume neutrino detectors, such as DUNE, Super-K, Hyper-K, and JUNO, as possible DM detectors, and (2) the flux at the Earth’s surface is enhanced by a focusing effect. In addition, the model leads to a significant anisotropy in the signal with the DM flowing dominantly vertically at the Earth’s surface instead of the typical approximately isotropic DM signal. We develop the theory behind this model and also calculate realistic constraints using a detailed GENIE simulation of the signal inside detectors. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Physical Review Letters)
    With excellent energy resolution and ultralow-level radiogenic backgrounds, the high-purity germanium detectors in the Majorana Demonstrator enable searches for several classes of exotic dark matter (DM) models. In this work, we report new experimental limits on keV-scale sterile neutrino DM via the transition magnetic moment from conversion to active neutrinos 𝜈𝑠→𝜈𝑎. We report new limits on fermionic dark matter absorption (𝜒+𝐴→𝜈+𝐴) and sub-GeV DM-nucleus 3→2 scattering (𝜒+𝜒+𝐴→𝜙+𝐴), and new exclusion limits for bosonic dark matter (axionlike particles and dark photons). These searches utilize the (1–100)-keV low-energy region of a 37.5-kg y exposure collected by the Demonstrator between May 2016 and November 2019 using a set of 76Ge-enriched detectors whose surface exposure time was carefully controlled, resulting in extremely low levels of cosmogenic activation. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics)
    Abstract We derive purely gravitational constraints on dark matter and cosmic neutrino profiles in the solar system using asteroid (101955) Bennu. We focus on Bennu because of its extensive tracking data and high-fidelity trajectory modeling resulting from the OSIRIS-REx mission. We find that the local density of dark matter is bound byρDM ≲ 3.3 × 10-15 kg/m3 ≃ 6 × 106 ρ̅DM, in the vicinity of ∼ 1.1 au (where ρ̅DM ≃ 0.3 GeV/cm3). We show that high-precision tracking data of solar system objects can constrain cosmic neutrino overdensities relative to the Standard Model prediction n̅ν, at the level ofη ≡ nν/n̅ν ≲ 1.7 × 1011(0.1 eV/mν) (Saturn), comparable to the existing bounds from KATRIN and other previous laboratory experiments (withmνthe neutrino mass). These local bounds have interesting implications for existing and future direct-detection experiments. Our constraints apply to all dark matter candidates but are particularly meaningful for scenarios including solar halos, stellar basins, and axion miniclusters, which predict overdensities in the solar system. Furthermore, introducing a DM-SM long-range fifth force with a strength α̃Dtimes stronger than gravity, Bennu can set a constraint onρDM ≲ ρ̅DM(6 × 106/α̃D). These constraints can be improved in the future as the accuracy of tracking data improves, observational arcs increase, and more missions visit asteroids. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; (, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)
    Abstract For decades, searches for electroweak-scale dark matter (DM) have been performed without a definitive detection. This lack of success may hint that DM searches have focused on the wrong mass range. A proposed candidate beyond the canonical parameter space is ultraheavy DM (UHDM). In this work, we consider indirect UHDM annihilation searches for masses between 30 TeV and 30 PeV—extending well beyond the unitarity limit at ∼100 TeV—and discuss the basic requirements for DM models in this regime. We explore the feasibility of detecting the annihilation signature, and the expected reach for UHDM with current and future very-high-energy (VHE; >100 GeV) γ -ray observatories. Specifically, we focus on three reference instruments: two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope arrays, modeled on VERITAS and CTA-North, and one extended air shower array, motivated by HAWC. With reasonable assumptions on the instrument response functions and background rate, we find a set of UHDM parameters (mass and cross section) for which a γ -ray signature can be detected by the aforementioned observatories. We further compute the expected upper limits for each experiment. With realistic exposure times, the three instruments can probe DM across a wide mass range. At the lower end, it can still have a point-like cross section, while at higher masses the DM could have a geometric cross section, indicative of compositeness. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email