DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: How high is the neutrino floor?

Journal Article · · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

In this study, we compute the contribution to the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering cross section from new physics models in the neutrino sector. We use this information to calculate the maximum value of the so-called neutrino floor for direct dark matter detection experiments, which determines when these detectors are sensitive to the neutrino background. After including all relevant experimental constraints in different simplified neutrino models, we have found that the neutrino floor can increase by various orders of magnitude in the region of dark matter masses below 10 GeV in the case of scalar mediators, however, this spectacular enhancement is subject to the re-examination of supernovae bounds. The increase is approximately a factor of two for vector mediators. In the light of these results, future claims by direct detection experiments exploring the low-mass window must be carefully examined if a signal is found well above the expected Standard Model neutrino floor.

Research Organization:
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-07CH11359
OSTI ID:
1510812
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-PUB--18-486-T; IPPP/18/72; arXiv:1809.06385; 1694491
Journal Information:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Journal Issue: 01 Vol. 2019; ISSN 1475-7516
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (98)

COHERENT constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions journal December 2017
The Sun and solar neutrinos journal September 2017
Scalar strange content of the nucleon from lattice QCD journal June 2013
Implication of neutrino backgrounds on the reach of next generation dark matter direct detection experiments journal January 2014
Accurate evaluation of hadronic uncertainties in spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering: Disentangling two- and three-flavor effects journal March 2014
COHERENT constraints to conventional and exotic neutrino physics journal February 2018
The strangeness content of the nucleon from effective field theory and phenomenology preprint January 2012
Tools for model-independent bounds in direct dark matter searches text January 2013
Complementarity of dark matter detectors in light of the neutrino background text January 2014
Constraints on Dark Photon from Neutrino-Electron Scattering Experiments text January 2015
Hunting All the Hidden Photons text January 2018
Coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering and new neutrino interactions journal March 2017
Neutrino non-standard interactions and dark matter searches with multi-ton scale detectors journal March 2018
Dark matter and exotic neutrino interactions in direct detection searches journal April 2017
Curtailing the dark side in non-standard neutrino interactions journal April 2017
Physics from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments journal May 2016
Probing neutrino coupling to a light scalar with coherent neutrino scattering journal May 2018
Serendipity in dark photon searches journal June 2018
Neutrino discovery limit of Dark Matter direct detection experiments in the presence of non-standard interactions journal July 2018
Testing large non-standard neutrino interactions with arbitrary mediator mass after COHERENT data journal July 2018
Hunting all the hidden photons journal July 2018
Flavor gauge models below the Fermi scale journal December 2017
The atmospheric neutrino flux below 100MeV: The FLUKA results journal June 2005
First results from the NEWS-G direct dark matter search experiment at the LSM journal January 2018
Scalar dark matter candidates journal April 2004
Can solar neutrinos be a serious background in direct dark matter searches? journal November 2008
A new two Higgs doublet model journal November 2007
The strangeness content of the nucleon from effective field theory and phenomenology journal March 2014
Non-standard interactions of solar neutrinos in dark matter experiments journal October 2017
COHERENT constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions journal December 2017
How Do Uncertainties in the Surface Chemical Composition of the Sun Affect the Predicted Solar Neutrino Fluxes? journal June 2005
Can annihilating dark matter be lighter than a few GeVs? journal January 2004
Exploring ν signals in dark matter detectors journal July 2012
Tools for model-independent bounds in direct dark matter searches journal October 2013
Dark matter vs. neutrinos: the effect of astrophysical uncertainties and timing information on the neutrino floor journal March 2015
CNO neutrino Grand Prix: the race to solve the solar metallicity problem journal April 2018
Prospects for exploring New Physics in Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering journal November 2018
The Sun and solar neutrinos journal September 2017
Inelastic and Elastic Scattering of 187-Mev Electrons from Selected Even-Even Nuclei journal December 1956
Nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung of dark gauge bosons and revised supernova constraints journal October 2016
Implications of a new light gauge boson for neutrino physics journal September 2004
Short baseline neutrino oscillations and a new light gauge boson journal February 2008
Is it possible to explain neutrino masses with scalar dark matter? journal February 2008
Neutrino physics with dark matter experiments and the signature of new baryonic neutral currents journal October 2011
Chiral representation of the π N scattering amplitude and the pion-nucleon sigma term journal March 2012
Scalar strange content of the nucleon from lattice QCD journal June 2013
Implication of neutrino backgrounds on the reach of next generation dark matter direct detection experiments journal January 2014
Accurate evaluation of hadronic uncertainties in spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering: Disentangling two- and three-flavor effects journal March 2014
Muon g − 2 , rare kaon decays, and parity violation from dark bosons journal May 2014
Coherent effects of a weak neutral current journal March 1974
Directional dark matter detection beyond the neutrino bound journal September 2014
Complementarity of dark matter detectors in light of the neutrino background journal October 2014
Standard Model anatomy of WIMP dark matter direct detection. II. QCD analysis and hadronic matrix elements journal February 2015
Constraints on dark photon from neutrino-electron scattering experiments journal August 2015
Readout strategies for directional dark matter detection beyond the neutrino background journal September 2015
Effective field theory treatment of the neutrino background in direct dark matter detection experiments journal April 2016
Dark matter astrophysical uncertainties and the neutrino floor journal September 2016
Dark matter, light mediators, and the neutrino floor journal March 2017
Projected sensitivity of the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment journal April 2017
COHERENT constraints to conventional and exotic neutrino physics journal February 2018
Observational constraints on secret neutrino interactions from big bang nucleosynthesis journal April 2018
COHERENT analysis of neutrino generalized interactions journal October 2018
High-Precision Determination of the Pion-Nucleon σ Term from Roy-Steiner Equations journal August 2015
Dark Matter Search Results from a One Ton-Year Exposure of XENON1T journal September 2018
Observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering journal August 2017
Uncertainties in WIMP dark matter scattering revisited journal July 2018
Novel Neutrino-Floor and Dark Matter Searches with Deformed Shell Model Calculations journal August 2018
Observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering text January 2017
Neutrino Physics with Dark Matter Experiments and the Signature of New Baryonic Neutral Currents text January 2011
Implication of neutrino backgrounds on the reach of next generation dark matter direct detection experiments text January 2013
Tools for model-independent bounds in direct dark matter searches text January 2013
Accurate evaluation of hadronic uncertainties in spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering: Disentangling two- and three-flavor effects text January 2013
Complementarity of dark matter detectors in light of the neutrino background text January 2014
Standard Model anatomy of WIMP dark matter direct detection II: QCD analysis and hadronic matrix elements text January 2014
Dark Matter vs. Neutrinos: The effect of astrophysical uncertainties and timing information on the neutrino floor text January 2014
Constraints on Dark Photon from Neutrino-Electron Scattering Experiments text January 2015
Readout strategies for directional dark matter detection beyond the neutrino background text January 2015
Physics from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments text January 2016
Dark matter, light mediators, and the neutrino floor text January 2016
Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering and new Neutrino Interactions text January 2016
Curtailing the Dark Side in Non-Standard Neutrino Interactions text January 2017
Dark Matter and Exotic Neutrino Interactions in Direct Detection Searches text January 2017
Observation of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering text January 2017
COHERENT constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions text January 2017
COHERENT constraints to conventional and exotic neutrino physics text January 2017
Neutrino non-standard interactions and dark matter searches with multi-ton scale detectors preprint January 2017
Serendipity in dark photon searches text January 2018
Probing neutrino coupling to a light scalar with coherent neutrino scattering text January 2018
Neutrino Discovery Limit of Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiments in the Presence of Non-Standard Interactions text January 2018
Novel neutrino-floor and dark matter searches with deformed shell model calculations text January 2018
Prospects for exploring New Physics in Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering text January 2018
COHERENT analysis of neutrino generalized interactions text January 2018
Can annihilating Dark Matter be lighter than a few GeVs? text January 2002
How do Uncertainties in the Surface Chemical Abundances of the Sun Affect the Predicted Solar Neutrino Fluxes? text January 2004
Scalar Dark Matter candidates text January 2003
A New Two Higgs Doublet Model text January 2006
Dark Matter Search Results from a One Ton-Year Exposure of XENON1T text January 2018
Curtailing the dark side in non-standard neutrino interactions text January 2017

Cited By (4)

Probing neutrino transition magnetic moments with coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering journal July 2019
Direct detection experiments at the neutrino dipole portal frontier journal April 2019
Recent Probes of Standard and Non-standard Neutrino Physics With Nuclei journal November 2019
Recent probes of standard and non-standard neutrino physics with nuclei text January 2019