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Register a new userDigging for Dark Matter: Spectral Analysis and Discovery Potential of Paleo-Detectors
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Paleo-detectors are a recently proposed method for the direct detection of Dark Matter (DM). In such detectors, one would search for the persistent damage features left by DM--nucleus interactions in ancient minerals. Initial sensitivity projections have shown that paleo-detectors could probe much of the remaining Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) parameter space. In this paper, we improve upon the cut-and-count approach previously used to estimate the sensitivity by performing a full spectral analysis of the background- and DM-induced signal spectra. We consider two scenarios for the systematic errors on the background spectra: i) systematic errors on the normalization only, and ii) systematic errors on the shape of the backgrounds. We find that the projected sensitivity is rather robust to imperfect knowledge of the backgrounds. Finally, we study how well the parameters of the true WIMP model could be reconstructed in the hypothetical case of a WIMP discovery.
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We discuss several low-energy backgrounds to sub-GeV dark matter searches, which arise from high-energy particles of cosmic or radioactive origin that interact with detector materials. We focus on Cherenkov radiation, transition radiation, and luminescence or phonons from electron-hole pair recombination, and show that these processes are an important source of backgrounds at both current and planned detectors. We perform detailed analyses of these backgrounds at several existing and proposed experiments. We find that a large fraction of the observed single-electron events in the SENSEI 2020 run originate from Cherenkov photons generated by high-energy events in the Skipper-CCD, and from recombination photons generated in a phosphorus-doped layer of the same instrument. In a SuperCDMS HVeV 2020 run, Cherenkov photons produced in the sensor holders likely explain the origin of most of the events containing 2 to 6 electrons. At SuperCDMS SNOLAB, Cherenkov radiation from radioactive contaminants in Cirlex could dominate the low-energy backgrounds. For EDELWEISS, Cherenkov or luminescence backgrounds are subdominant to their observed event rate, but could still limit the sensitivity of their future searches. We also point out that Cherenkov radiation, transition radiation, and recombination could be a significant source of backgrounds at future experiments aiming to detect dark-matter via scintillation or phonon signals. The implications of our results for sub-GeV dark-matter searches and for the design of future detectors are significant. In particular, several design strategies to mitigate these backgrounds can be implemented, such as minimizing non-conductive materials near the target, implementing active and passive shielding, and using multiple detectors. Finally, we speculate on the implications of our results for the development of quantum computers and neutrino detectors.
We propose the use of silicon carbide (SiC) for direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter. SiC has properties similar to both silicon and diamond, but has two key advantages: (i) it is a polar semiconductor which allows sensitivity to a broader range of dark matter candidates; and (ii) it exists in many stable polymorphs with varying physical properties, and hence has tunable sensitivity to various dark matter models. We show that SiC is an excellent target to search for electron, nuclear and phonon excitations from scattering of dark matter down to 10 keV in mass, as well as for absorption processes of dark matter down to 10 meV in mass. Combined with its widespread use as an alternative to silicon in other detector technologies and its availability compared to diamond, our results demonstrate that SiC holds much promise as a novel dark matter detector.
Axion is a promising candidate for ultralight dark matter which may cause a polarization rotation of laser light. Recently, a new idea of probing the axion dark matter by optical linear cavities used in the arms of gravitational wave detectors has been proposed [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 111301 (2019)]. In this article, a realistic scheme of the axion dark matter search with the arm cavity transmission ports is revisited. Since photons detected by the transmission ports travel in the cavity for odd-number of times, the effect of axion dark matter on their phases is not cancelled out and the sensitivity at low-mass range is significantly improved compared to the search using reflection ports. We also take into account the stochastic nature of the axion field and the availability of the two detection ports in the gravitational wave detectors. The sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling, $g_{agamma}$, of the ground-based gravitational wave detector, such as Advanced LIGO, with 1-year observation is estimated to be $g_{agamma} sim 3times10^{-12}$ GeV$^{-1}$ below the axion mass of $10^{-15}$ eV, which improves upon the limit achieved by the CERN Axion Solar Telescope.
We derive spectral lineshapes of the expected signal for a haloscope experiment searching for axionlike dark matter. The knowledge of these lineshapes is needed to optimize the experimental design and data analysis procedure. We extend the previously known results for the axion-photon and axion-gluon couplings to the case of gradient (axion-fermion) coupling. A unique feature of the gradient interaction is its dependence not only on magnitudes but also on directions of velocities of galactic halo particles, which leads to directional sensitivity of the corresponding haloscope. We also discuss the daily and annual modulations of the gradient signal caused by the Earths rotational and orbital motions. In the case of detection, these periodic modulations will be an important confirmation that the signal is sourced by axionlike particles in the halo of our galaxy.
The possibility of direct detection of light fermionic dark matter in neutrino detectors is explored from a model-independent standpoint. We consider all operators of dimension six or lower which can contribute to the interaction $bar{f} p to e^+ n$, where $f$ is a dark Majorana or Dirac fermion. Constraints on these operators are then obtained from the $f$ lifetime and its decays which produce visible $gamma$ rays or electrons. We find one operator which would allow $bar{f} p to e^+ n$ at interesting rates in neutrino detectors, as long as $m_f lesssim m_{pi}$. The existing constraints on light dark matter from relic density arguments, supernova cooling rates, and big-bang nucleosynthesis are then reviewed. We calculate the cross-section for $bar{f} p to e^+ n$ in neutrino detectors implied by this operator, and find that Super-K can probe the new physics scale $Lambda$ for this interaction up to ${cal O}(100 {TeV})$
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