121 research outputs found
Probing sub-GeV mass SIMP dark matter with a low-threshold surface experiment
Using data from the -cleus detector, based on the surface of the Earth,
we place constraints on dark matter in the form of Strongly Interacting Massive
Particles (SIMPs) which interact with nucleons via nuclear-scale cross
sections. For large SIMP-nucleon cross sections the sensitivity of traditional
direct dark matter searches using underground experiments is limited by the
energy loss experienced by SIMPs, due to scattering with the rock overburden
and experimental shielding on their way to the detector apparatus. Hence a
surface-based experiment is ideal for a SIMP search, despite the much larger
background, resulting from the lack of shielding. We show using data from a
recent surface run of a low-threshold cryogenic detector that values of the
SIMP-nucleon cross section up to approximately cm can be
excluded for SIMPs with masses above 100 MeV.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. v3: Matches version accepted to PR
US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report
This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in
Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference
Earth-Scattering of super-heavy Dark Matter: updated constraints from detectors old and new
Direct searches for Dark Matter (DM) are continuously improving, probing down
to lower and lower DM-nucleon interaction cross sections. For
strongly-interacting massive particle (SIMP) Dark Matter, however, the
accessible cross section is bounded from above due to the stopping effect of
the atmosphere, Earth and detector shielding. We present a careful calculation
of the SIMP signal rate, focusing on super-heavy DM () for which the standard nuclear-stopping formalism is
applicable, and provide code for implementing this calculation numerically.
With recent results from the low-threshold CRESST 2017 surface run, we improve
the maximum cross section reach of direct detection searches by a factor of
around 5000, for DM masses up to . A reanalysis of the
longer-exposure, sub-surface CDMS-I results (published in 2002) improves the
previous cross section reach by two orders of magnitude, for masses up to
. Along with complementary constraints from SIMP
capture and annihilation in the Earth and Sun, these improved limits from
direct nuclear scattering searches close a number of windows in the SIMP
parameter space in the mass range GeV to GeV, of particular
interest for heavy DM produced gravitationally at the end of inflation.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Code available at
https://github.com/bradkav/verne . Comments welcome. v2: Fixed references and
minor typos, corrected "-cleus" to "CRESST 2017 surface run". v3: Added
Appendix A with explicit expressions and coordinate system. v4: Added
discussion of variance in final DM speed. Version published in PR
Dark sectors 2016 Workshop: community report
This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016,
summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter
and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad
international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration,
and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the
next 5-10 years
LBECA: A Low Background Electron Counting Apparatus for Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detection
Two-phase noble liquid detectors, with large target masses and effective
background reduction, are currently leading the dark matter direct detection
for WIMP masses above a few GeV. Due to their sensitivity to single ionized
electron signals, these detectors were shown to also have strong constraints
for sub-GeV dark matter via their scattering on electrons. In fact, the most
stringent direct detection constraints for sub-GeV dark matter down to as low
as ~5 MeV come from noble liquid detectors, namely XENON10, DarkSide-50,
XENON100 and XENON1T, although these experiments still suffer from high
background at single or a few electron level. LBECA is a planned 100-kg scale
liquid xenon detector with significant reduction of the single and a few
electron background. The experiment will improve the sensitivity to sub-GeV
dark matter by three orders of magnitude compared to the current best
constraints.Comment: to appear in the Proceedings of the TAUP 2019 Conferenc
US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report
This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017
Searching for low-mass dark matter particles with a massive Ge bolometer operated above ground
Exploring the Early Universe with Gaia and THEIA
It has recently been pointed out that Gaia is capable of detecting a
stochastic gravitational wave background in the sensitivity band between the
frequency of pulsar timing arrays and LISA. We argue that Gaia and THEIA has
great potential for early universe cosmology, since such a frequency range is
ideal for probing phase transitions in asymmetric dark matter, SIMP and the
cosmological QCD transition. Furthermore, there is the potential for detecting
primordial black holes in the solar mass range produced during such an early
universe transition and distinguish them from those expected from the QCD
epoch. Finally, we discuss the potential for Gaia and THEIA to probe
topological defects and the ability of Gaia to potentially shed light on the
recent NANOGrav results.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure
US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report
This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017
Dark Matter Candidates: A Ten-Point Test
An extraordinarily rich zoo of non-baryonic Dark Matter candidates has been
proposed over the last three decades. Here we present a 10-point test that a
new particle has to pass, in order to be considered a viable DM candidate: I.)
Does it match the appropriate relic density? II.) Is it {\it cold}? III.) Is it
neutral? IV.) Is it consistent with BBN? V.) Does it leave stellar evolution
unchanged? VI.) Is it compatible with constraints on self-interactions? VII.)
Is it consistent with {\it direct} DM searches? VIII.) Is it compatible with
gamma-ray constraints? IX.) Is it compatible with other astrophysical bounds?
X.) Can it be probed experimentally?Comment: 29 pages, 12 figure
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