Power corrections to the universal heavy WIMP-nucleon cross section

Journal Article · 13 April 2018 · Physics Letters B

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2018.04.021 · OSTI ID:1437866

Chen, Chien-Yi ^[1]; Hill, Richard J.  ^[2]; Solon, Mikhail P. ^[3]; Wijangco, Alexander M. ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Victoria, BC (Canada); Perimeter Inst. for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, ON (Canada)
2. Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
3. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
4. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

WIMP-nucleon scattering is analyzed at order 1/Min Heavy WIMP Effective Theory. The 1/M power corrections, where M ≫ m_W is the WIMP mass, distinguish between different underlying UV models with the same universal limit and their impact on direct detection rates can be enhanced relative to naive expectations due to generic amplitude-level cancellations at leading order. The necessary one-and two-loop matching calculations onto the low-energy effective theory for WIMP interactions with Standard Model quarks and gluons are performed for the case of an electroweak SU(2) triplet WIMP, considering both the cases of elementary fermions and composite scalars. The low-velocity WIMP-nucleon scattering cross section is evaluated and compared with current experimental limits and projected future sensitivities. Our results provide the most robust prediction for electroweak triplet Majorana fermion dark matter direct detection rates; for this case, a cancellation between two sources of power corrections yields a small total 1/M correction, and a total cross section close to the universal limit for M ≳100 GeV. For the SU(2) composite scalar, the 1/M corrections introduce dependence on underlying strong dynamics. Using a leading chiral logarithm evaluation, the total 1/M correction has a larger magnitude and uncertainty than in the fermionic case, with a sign that further suppresses the total cross section. These examples provide definite targets for future direct detection experiments and motivate large scale detectors capable of probing to the neutrino floor in the TeV mass regime.

• Research Organization: California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); National Research Council of Canada
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0011632; AC02-05CH11231; AC02-07CH11359
• OSTI ID: 1437866
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1599362
• Journal Information: Physics Letters B, Vol. 781, Issue C; ISSN 0370-2693
• Publisher: ElsevierCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English