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Title: Direct detection signatures of self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator

Journal Article · · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles,CA, 90095 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside,CA, 92507 (United States)
  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine,CA, 92697 (United States)

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) is a simple and well-motivated scenario that could explain long-standing puzzles in structure formation on small scales. If the required self-interaction arises through a light mediator (with mass ∼10 MeV) in the dark sector, this new particle must be unstable to avoid overclosing the universe. The decay of the light mediator could happen due to a weak coupling of the hidden and visible sectors, providing new signatures for direct detection experiments. The SIDM nuclear recoil spectrum is more peaked towards low energies compared to the usual case of contact interactions, because the mediator mass is comparable to the momentum transfer of nuclear recoils. We show that the SIDM signal could be distinguished from that of DM particles with contact interactions by considering the time-average energy spectrum in experiments employing different target materials, or the average and modulated spectra in a single experiment. Using current limits from LUX and SuperCDMS, we also derive strong bounds on the mixing parameter between hidden and visible sector.

Sponsoring Organization:
SCOAP3, CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)
OSTI ID:
22458398
Journal Information:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 10; Other Information: PUBLISHER-ID: JCAP10(2015)055; OAI: oai:repo.scoap3.org:12427; Article funded by SCOAP3. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (39)

Vector SIMP dark matter with approximate custodial symmetry journal July 2019
Composite asymmetric dark matter with a dark photon portal journal November 2018
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2 SIMP dark matter journal January 2016
Production regimes for Self-Interacting Dark Matter journal March 2016
The spectrum of darkonium in the Sun journal October 2016
Self-interacting inelastic dark matter: a viable solution to the small scale structure problems journal March 2017
Dark Matter's secret liaisons: phenomenology of a dark U(1) sector with bound states journal May 2017
Astrophysical probes of inelastic dark matter with a light mediator journal February 2020
Detecting dark matter through dark photons from the Sun: Charged particle signatures journal June 2016
Hidden sector hydrogen as dark matter: Small-scale structure formation predictions and the importance of hyperfine interactions journal December 2016
Antiprotons from dark matter annihilation through light mediators and a possible excess in AMS-02 p ¯ / p data journal March 2017
Erratum: Detecting dark matter through dark photons from the Sun: Charged particle signatures [Phys. Rev. D 93 , 115036 (2016)] journal November 2017
Realization of sneutrino self-interacting dark matter in the focus point supersymmetry journal August 2018
Dark matter direct detection is testing freeze-in journal October 2018
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Asymmetric dark matter: residual annihilations and self-interactions text January 2018
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Asymmetric Dark Matter: Residual Annihilations and Self-Interactions text January 2017
Strong constraints on self-interacting dark matter with light mediators text January 2016
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Search for Light Dark Matter Interactions Enhanced by the Migdal Effect or Bremsstrahlung in XENON1T text January 2019
$Z_2$ SIMP Dark Matter text January 2015
The Spectrum of Darkonium in the Sun text January 2016
Strong constraints on self-interacting dark matter with light mediators text January 2016
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Dark Matter's secret liaisons: phenomenology of a dark U(1) sector with bound states text January 2016
Asymmetric dark matter: residual annihilations and self-interactions text January 2017
Constraining Dark Matter Models with a Light Mediator from PandaX-II Experiment text January 2018
Composite Asymmetric Dark Matter with a Dark Photon Portal text January 2018
Vector SIMP dark matter with approximate custodial symmetry text January 2019
Light Dark Matter Search with Ionization Signals in XENON1T text January 2019
Astrophysical probes of inelastic dark matter with a light mediator text January 2019
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