Related papers: Dark Matter scattering in low threshold detectors
The dark matter scattering with atomic bound electrons is a crucial avenue for exploring the sub-GeV mass range. If not handled properly, even negative values can arise in the scattering matrix element squared or equivalently the…
We consider current observational constraints on the electromagnetic charge of dark matter. The velocity dependence of the scattering cross-section through the photon gives rise to qualitatively different constraints than standard dark…
Dark matter particles with sufficiently large interactions with ordinary matter can scatter in the Earth before reaching and scattering in a detector. This induces a modulation in the signal rate with a period of one sidereal day. We…
Dark matter is typically assumed not to couple to the photon at tree level. While annihilation to photons through quark loops is often considered in indirect detection searches, such loop-level effects are usually neglected in direct…
Direct detection experiments have started to explore dark matter scattering off electrons and nucleons through light mediators. Mediators with sub-keV masses are efficiently produced in the Sun and can be absorbed in the same detectors that…
Due to the low nuclear recoils, sub-GeV dark matter (DM) is usually beyond the sensitivity of the conventional DM direct detection experiments. The boosted and Migdal scattering mechanisms have been proposed as two new complementary avenues…
We describe a novel search for MeV-to-GeV-mass dark matter, in which the dark matter scatters off electrons in a scintillating target. The excitation and subsequent de-excitation of the electron produces one or more photons, which could be…
In recent years, a growing experimental program has begun to search for sub-GeV dark matter through its scattering with electrons. An associated theoretical challenge is to compute the dark matter scattering rate in experimental targets,…
It is well-known that stars have the potential to be excellent dark matter detectors. Infalling dark matter that scatters within stars could lead to a range of observational signatures, including stellar heating, black hole formation, and…
Direct detection experiments are looking for nuclear recoils from scattering of sub-GeV dark matter (DM) in crystals, and have thresholds as low as ~ 10 eV or DM masses of ~ 100 MeV. Future experiments are aiming for even lower thresholds.…
Sub-GeV mass dark matter particles whose collisions with nuclei would not deposit sufficient energy to be detected, could instead be revealed through their interaction with electrons. Analyses of data from direct detection experiments…
Dark matter may be discovered through its capture in stars and subsequent annihilation. It is usually assumed that dark matter is captured after a single scattering event in the star, however this assumption breaks down for heavy dark…
The scattering of light dark matter off thermal electrons inside the Sun produces a "fast" sub-component of the dark matter flux that may be detectable in underground experiments. We update and extend previous work by analyzing the…
There has been renewed interest in the possibility that dark matter exists in the form of atoms, analogous to those of the visible world. An important input for understanding the cosmological consequences of dark atoms is their…
The Migdal effect is a key inelastic signal channel which could be used to detect low-mass dark matter, but it has never been observed experimentally using Standard Model probes. Here we propose a conceptual design for an experiment which…
We present prospects for discovering dark matter scattering in gravitational wave detectors. The focus of this work is on light, particle dark matter with masses below 1 GeV/c$^{2}$. We investigate how a potential signal compares to typical…
Dark matter direct detection experiments have limited sensitivity to light dark matter (below a few GeV), due to the challenges of lowering energy thresholds for the detection of nuclear recoil to below $\mathcal{O}(\mathrm{keV})$. While…
The primary observable in dark matter direct detection is the spectrum of scattering events. We simulate multiple positive direct detection signals (on germanium, xenon, and argon targets) to explore the extent to which the underlying…
The scattering and absorption rates of light dark matter with electron spin-dependent interactions depend on the target's spin response. We show how this response is encoded by the target's dynamical magnetic susceptibility, which can be…
Scattering of light dark matter with sub-eV energy deposition can be detected with collective excitations in condensed matter systems. When dark matter has spin-independent couplings to atoms or ions, it has been shown to efficiently excite…