Large composite dark matter states source a scalar binding field that, when coupled to Standard Model nucleons, provides a potential under which nuclei recoil and accelerate to energies capable of ionization, radiation, and thermonuclear reactions. We show that these dynamics are detectable for nucleon couplings as small as gn∼10−17 at dark matter experiments, where the greatest sensitivity is attained by considering the Migdal effect. We also explore Type-Ia supernovae and planetary heating as possible means to discover this type of dark matter.
@article{arxiv.2108.10889,
title = {Accelerating Composite Dark Matter Discovery with Nuclear Recoils and the Migdal Effect},
author = {Javier F. Acevedo and Joseph Bramante and Alan Goodman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2108.10889},
year = {2022}
}