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Title: Directional detection of light dark matter with polar materials

Journal Article · · Physical Review. D.
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland)

We consider the direct detection of dark matter (DM) with polar materials, where single production of optical or acoustic phonons gives an excellent reach to the scattering of sub-MeV DM for both scalar and vector mediators. Using density functional theory, we calculate the material-specific matrix elements, focusing on GaAs and sapphire, and show that DM scattering in an anisotropic crystal such as sapphire features a strong directional dependence. For example, for a DM candidate with mass 40 keV and relic abundance set by freeze-in, the daily modulation in the interaction rate can be established at 90% C.L. with a gram year of exposure. Nonthermal dark photon DM in the meV-eV mass range can also be effectively absorbed in polar materials.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1488976
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1505522
Journal Information:
Physical Review. D., Vol. 98, Issue 11; ISSN 2470-0010
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Spectral and optical properties of Ag 3 Au(Se 2 ,Te 2 ) and dark matter detection journal October 2019
Directly Deflecting Particle Dark Matter journal January 2020
Dirac materials for sub-MeV dark matter detection: New targets and improved formalism text January 2020
Diamond Detectors for Direct Detection of Sub-GeV Dark Matter text January 2019
Making dark matter out of light: freeze-in from plasma effects text January 2019
Dirac Materials for Sub-MeV Dark Matter Detection: New Targets and Improved Formalism text January 2019
Spectral and optical properties of Ag$_3$Au(Se$_2$,Te$_2$) and dark matter detection text January 2019