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

Abstract

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.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Department of Physics and Astronomy
  2. Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States). Department of Physics and Astronomy
  3. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States). Department of Physics and Astronomy
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Department of Physics and Astronomy
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1434602
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0009937; SC0008541
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2015; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

Citation Formats

Nobile, Eugenio Del, Kaplinghat, Manoj, and Yu, Hai-Bo. Direct detection signatures of self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2015/10/055.
Nobile, Eugenio Del, Kaplinghat, Manoj, & Yu, Hai-Bo. Direct detection signatures of self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2015/10/055
Nobile, Eugenio Del, Kaplinghat, Manoj, and Yu, Hai-Bo. Tue . "Direct detection signatures of self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2015/10/055. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1434602.
@article{osti_1434602,
title = {Direct detection signatures of self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator},
author = {Nobile, Eugenio Del and Kaplinghat, Manoj and Yu, Hai-Bo},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2015/10/055},
journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
number = 10,
volume = 2015,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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