Novel Neutrino-Floor and Dark Matter Searches with Deformed Shell Model Calculations

Abstract

Event detection rates for WIMP-nucleus interactions are calculated for 71 Ga, 73 Ge, 75 As and 127 I (direct dark matter detectors). The nuclear structure form factors, that are rather independent of the underlying beyond the Standard Model particle physics scenario assumed, are evaluated within the context of the deformed nuclear shell model (DSM) based on Hartree-Fock nuclear states. Along with the previously published DSM results for 73 Ge, the neutrino-floor due to coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS), an important source of background to dark matter searches, is extensively calculated. The impact of new contributions to CEνNS due to neutrino magnetic moments and Z mediators at direct dark matter detection experiments is also examined and discussed. The results show that the neutrino-floor constitutes a crucial source of background events for multi-ton scale detectors with sub-keV capabilities.

Recent Probes of Standard and Non-standard Neutrino Physics With Nuclei

“…In the context of nuclear theory, it is possible to treat separately the proton and neutron nuclear form factors by employing non-trivial techniques. The most reliable methods for this purpose include the large-scale Shell-Model [74,75], the QRPA [76], Microscopic Quasiparticle Phonon Model (MQPM) [77], the deformed Shell-Model (DSM) method [39] and others. Recently, crucial information on important nuclear parameters has been extracted from the analysis of the recent COHERENT data in Refs.…”

“…Therefore precise information on the nuclear form factors becomes very relevant for DM detectors especially for those involving multi-ton mass scale [35]. For example, alterations are expected at high recoil energies of neutrino-induced interactions at direct DM detection searches [39] which on the other hand may be limited by the current uncertainties of the Atmospheric and DSNB neutrinos. Models involving light mediators are well testable at CEνNS searches and may offer a key solution to LMA-Dark [151,159] as well as implications to DM searches [28,133] and to the neutrino floor [40].…”

Probing neutrino transition magnetic moments with coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

“…Very recently, it has been emphasized the need for taking into account also the incoherent channel of neutrino-nucleus scattering at momentum transfers (q) beyond the coherency frontier, e.g. qR A 1 [45] (R A is the nuclear radius), which are particularly relevant for neutrino floor studies at direct detection dark matter experiments [46][47][48].…”

Constraining nuclear physics parameters with current and future COHERENT data

“…For this reason, numerous studies rely on the approximation ρ p = ρ n and thus assume F p = F n . On the theoretical side, both the proton and neutron nuclear form factors can be treated separately, within the context of advanced nuclear physics methods such as, the large-scale Shell-Model [75,76], the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) [77], Microscopic Quasiparticle Phonon Model (MQPM) [45] and the method of DSM calculations [27]. In the present work we employ the latter method.…”

“…These searches address non-standard interactions (NSIs) [7][8][9][10], electromagnetic (EM) properties [11][12][13], sterile neutrinos [14][15][16], novel mediators [17][18][19][20], CP-violation [21,22] and implications to dark matter [23][24][25]. Potential contributions due to neutrino-nucleus scattering at direct dark * dipapou@ific.uv.es † hkosmas@uoi.gr ‡ rankasahu@gmail.com § vkbkota@prl.res.in ¶ mihirhota@nist.edu matter detection detectors have been explored [26][27][28][29], while the CEνNS cross section has been also revisited within [30] and beyond the SM [31][32][33].…”