Terrestrial effects on dark matter-electron scattering experiments

Emken, Timon; Kouvaris, Chris; Shoemaker, Ian M.

doi:10.1103/physrevd.96.015018

Cited by 56 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Gray regions show constraints as in [5], updated on the top plot with data from MiniBooNE [50] and BABAR [51]. Due to earthscattering effects [52], no XENON10=100 limit exists in the top right region.…”

Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

New constraints and prospects for sub-GeV dark matter scattering off electrons in xenon

2017

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We study in detail sub-GeV dark matter scattering off electrons in xenon, including the expected electron recoil spectra and annual modulation spectra. We derive improved constraints using low-energy XENON10 and XENON100 ionization-only data. For XENON10, in addition to including electron-recoil data corresponding to about 1-3 electrons, we include for the first time events corresponding to about 4-7 electrons. Assuming the scattering is momentum independent (F DM ¼ 1), this strengthens a previous crosssection bound by almost an order of magnitude for dark matter masses above 50 MeV. The available XENON100 data corresponds to events with about 4-50 electrons, and leads to a constraint that is comparable to the XENON10 bound above 50 MeV for F DM ¼ 1. We demonstrate that a search for an annual modulation signal in upcoming xenon experiments (XENON1T, XENONnT, LZ) could substantially improve the above bounds even in the presence of large backgrounds. We also emphasize that in simple benchmark models of sub-GeV dark matter, the dark matter-electron scattering rate can be as high as one event every ten (two) seconds in the XENON1T (XENONnT or LZ) experiments, without being in conflict with any other known experimental bounds. While there are several sources of backgrounds that can produce single-or few-electron events, a large event rate can be consistent with a dark matter signal and should not be simply written off as purely a detector curiosity. This fact motivates a detailed analysis of the ionization-data ("S2") data, taking into account the expected annual modulation spectrum of the signal rate, as well as the DM-induced electron-recoil spectra, which are another powerful discriminant between signal and background.

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Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

New constraints and prospects for sub-GeV dark matter scattering off electrons in xenon

2017

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“…For representative parameter values SuperCDMS is likely to be able to probe this range of cross sections in the future but it now lies a few orders of magnitude below the current constraints [75]. The calculation of the thermal DM annihilation cross section into final state electrons (the most likely possible final state for typical DM masses) can be expressed in a similar fashion by writing σv rel =bv 2 rel , where the detailed kinematic information, including the sub-leading terms in the velocities, and (away from any resonances for simplicity) is contained in the parameterb which is given in the limit of a zero electron mass by [71][72][73] …”

Section: Jhep07(2018)118mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the light DM that we consider here, ∼ 10 − 100 MeV, scattering off of electrons is likely to provide the greatest sensitivity [6]. Assuming a form factor of unity since m 2 DM m 2 e , this cross section can be expressed as (for either S or S † scattering) [71][72][73][74] …”

Section: Jhep07(2018)118mentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinetic mixing, dark photons and an extra dimension. Part I

Rizzo

2018

J. High Energ. Phys.

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Extra dimensions (ED) can provide a useful tool for model-building. In this paper we introduce a single, flat ED extension of the kinetic-mixing/dark photon (DP) portal for dark matter (DM) interactions with the Standard Model (SM) assuming a compactification 'radius' of order R −1 ∼ 10−1000 MeV and examine the resulting modifications to and augmentation of the usual DP phenomenology. In the present scenario, both the DP and DM experience the full 5-D while the SM fields are constrained to lie on a 4-D brane at the boundary of the ED. Such a setup can naturally yield the observed value of the DM relic density and explain the required rough degeneracy of the DM and DP masses needed to obtain it. Gauge symmetry breaking can occur via boundary conditions without the introduction of an additional singlet Higgs scalar thus avoiding all constraints associated with the coupling of such a field to the usual SM Higgs field in 5-D. The self-consistency in the removal of the kinetic mixing terms is found to lead to a brane localized kinetic term for the 5-D gauge field on the SM brane. Multiple variations of this scenario are found to be possible which are consistent with current experimental constraints but which predict very different phenomenologies. In this paper, we discuss the case of a complex scalar 5-D DM field, consistent with constraints arising from the CMB, which may or may not obtain a vacuum expectation value (vev). This approach can lead to interesting and distinctive signatures while being constrained by a wide array of existing measurements but with the details being dependent upon the model specifics.

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“…The terrestrial effects on MeV-to-GeV DM scattering off nuclei or electrons are model dependent and have so far only been explored partially in the literature [25][26][27] (see Refs. [28][29][30][31][32][33] for larger DM masses).…”

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confidence: 99%

SENSEI: First Direct-Detection Constraints on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from a Surface Run

et al. 2018

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The Sub-Electron-Noise Skipper CCD Experimental Instrument (SENSEI) uses the recently developed Skipper-CCD technology to search for electron recoils from the interaction of sub-GeV dark matter particles with electrons in silicon. We report first results from a prototype SENSEI detector, which collected 0.019 g day of commissioning data above ground at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. These commissioning data are sufficient to set new direct-detection constraints for dark matter particles with masses between ∼500 keV and 4 MeV. Moreover, since these data were taken on the surface, they disfavor previously allowed strongly interacting dark matter particles with masses between ∼500 keV and a few hundred MeV. We discuss the implications of these data for several dark matter candidates, including one model proposed to explain the anomalously large 21-cm signal observed by the EDGES Collaboration. SENSEI is the first experiment dedicated to the search for electron recoils from dark matter, and these results demonstrate the power of the Skipper-CCD technology for dark matter searches.

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Terrestrial effects on dark matter-electron scattering experiments

Cited by 56 publications

References 26 publications

New constraints and prospects for sub-GeV dark matter scattering off electrons in xenon

New constraints and prospects for sub-GeV dark matter scattering off electrons in xenon

Kinetic mixing, dark photons and an extra dimension. Part I

SENSEI: First Direct-Detection Constraints on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from a Surface Run

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