We present the first dedicated analysis of cosmic-ray boosted dark matter (CRDM) in paleo detectors. Owing to their large kinetic energies, CRDM particles generate nuclear-recoil tracks that extend to substantially larger lengths than those produced by dominant backgrounds from neutrinos and intrinsic radioactivity. Combined with the ultra-large effective geological exposure of O(105)tyr, paleo detectors provide a uniquely sensitive probe of sub-GeV DM. Considering both constant and vector-mediator interactions, we find that paleo detectors improve the sensitivity to the DM--proton scattering cross section by one to two orders of magnitude compared with the latest XENONnT limits.
@article{arxiv.2601.13949,
title = {Mineral Detection of Cosmic-Ray Boosted Dark Matter},
author = {Jin-Wei Wang and Fei-Fei Li},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.13949},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
7 pages, 3 figures; Updated to match the submitted version and fixed some typos