First search for a dark matter annual modulation signal with NaI(Tl) in the Southern Hemisphere by DM-Ice17

Abstract

We present the first search for a dark matter annual modulation signal in the Southern Hemisphere conducted with NaI(Tl) detectors, performed by the DM-Ice17 experiment. Nuclear recoils from dark matter interactions are expected to yield an annually modulated signal independent of location within the Earth's hemispheres. DM-Ice17, the first step in the DM-Ice experimental program, consists of 17 kg of NaI(Tl) located at the South Pole under 2200 m.w.e. overburden of Antarctic glacial ice. Taken over 3.6 years for a total exposure of 60.8 kg•yr, DM-Ice17 data are consistent with no modulation in the energy range of 4-20 keV, providing the strongest limits on weakly interacting massive particle dark matter from a direct detection experiment located in the Southern Hemisphere. The successful deployment and stable long-term operation of DM-Ice17 establishes the South Pole ice as a viable location for future dark matter searches and in particular for a high-sensitivity NaI(Tl) dark matter experiment to directly test the DAMA/LIBRA claim of the observation of dark matter.

Velocity substructure from Gaia and direct searches for dark matter

“…These include DM-Ice [167], KIMS [168], SABRE [169], Cosine [170,171] and ANAIS [172,173]. We do not provide a detailed fit to the DAMA/LIBRA data but instead focus our discussion on the general features introduced by the Dark Shards.…”

ANAIS-112 sensitivity in the search for dark matter annual modulation

“…The ANAIS experiment [1,2] is intended to search for dark matter annual modulation with ultrapure NaI(Tl) scintillators at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) in Spain, in order to provide a model independent confirmation of the signal reported by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration [3][4][5] using the same target and technique. Projects like DM-Ice [6], COSINE-100 [7,8], SABRE [9] and PICO-LON [10] also envisage the use of large masses of NaI(Tl) for dark matter searches. Results obtained by a e-mail: icoarasa@unizar.es b Deceased other experiments with other target materials and techniques (like those from CDMS [11], CRESST [12], EDELWEISS [13], KIMS [14], LUX [15], PICO [16], XENON [17] or DarkSide [18,19] collaborations) have been ruling out for years the most plausible compatibility scenarios.…”

“…Results obtained by a e-mail: icoarasa@unizar.es b Deceased other experiments with other target materials and techniques (like those from CDMS [11], CRESST [12], EDELWEISS [13], KIMS [14], LUX [15], PICO [16], XENON [17] or DarkSide [18,19] collaborations) have been ruling out for years the most plausible compatibility scenarios. Nevertheless, DAMA/LIBRA has accumulated up to now twenty annual cycles in the [2,6] keV ee energy region (keV ee for keV electron-equivalent) with 12.8σ statistical significance (phase and period fixed) [3][4][5]. Moreover, DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 has been able to accumulate six annual cycles in the [1,6] keV ee energy region with 9.5σ statistical significance because all the photomultipliers (PMTs) were replaced by a second generation PMTs Hamamatsu R6233MOD, with higher quantum efficiency and with lower background with respect to those used in phase1 [5].…”

“…Nevertheless, DAMA/LIBRA has accumulated up to now twenty annual cycles in the [2,6] keV ee energy region (keV ee for keV electron-equivalent) with 12.8σ statistical significance (phase and period fixed) [3][4][5]. Moreover, DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 has been able to accumulate six annual cycles in the [1,6] keV ee energy region with 9.5σ statistical significance because all the photomultipliers (PMTs) were replaced by a second generation PMTs Hamamatsu R6233MOD, with higher quantum efficiency and with lower background with respect to those used in phase1 [5].…”

Search for a Dark Matter-Induced Annual Modulation Signal in NaI(Tl) with the COSINE-100 Experiment

“…Previously, we have performed a model-dependent test of DAMA and found that DAMA's observed annual modulation cannot be explained by spinindependent WIMP-nucleus scattering in the context of the standard halo model [22]. Additionally, there are several other experiments aimed at performing modelindependent tests of DAMA, including DM-Ice17 [23], KIMS [24], SABRE [25], and ANAIS-112 [26,27], which has recently reported its first result. COSINE-100 is located at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory (Y2L) in South Korea, with >700 m of rock overburden.…”